The Oracle's Mirror: The Diary
by KittenKagome
Summary: [Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire] Part of the Oracle's Mirror series, Dominic finds himself in our world with Luna's OTHER, Lina Starrow. It would've been a nice visit, if it were not for his brother, Jacob.
1. The Diary

**The Diary**

**Chronicles of Dominic Deegan. **

**by Jennifer Grow (sn:KittenKagome) **

_"Luna..this way.." Dominic held up a lantern as he held Luna's hand and guided her through. "Just for once, we are going to relax and not have to worry about psycopathic mages, my brother, or anyone else, bothering us. They can all just go away." _

_Luna shook her head, but stopped in place when Dominic's light flickered and faded._

_"Habeke..." She said confused, "You just lit that Dominic...Dominic..."_

_There was no reply._

_Luna felt around for him. It was completely dark, and not even moonlight shown down to give her some guidance.."Where are you..no no I shouldve bought more lights, this is my fault..its always my fault...Dominic!"_

_The lantern started up again, and it rested on the ground. Normal moonlight returned to the area..and on the ground beside the lantern was Dominic's hat and pipe._

_"Where are you? Dominic!.." Luna began to run east, "Gregory..somebody! Dominic isnt here! He isnt here!"_

He was alone. He was stranded in darkness, bumbling around God knows where as he reached out for a place to rest his weariness. All he could tell is that he was stuck in a dense thicket of trees,and his own senses told him he needed to get out of their and fast. He pushed aside his fatigue and went faster, faster, until a bright light hit his eye. A great pole shined a light down upon him, and he stood there, stunned. He shielded his eyes and stepped out onto the hard pavement. The lights were all around, and in the distance, many lit buildings, flashing a million colors in every direction. He stared down the small hill and could tell that several of the lights were moving, and the hum of the crowd could just barely be heard. He examined where he stood, the markings drawn along the road seperating it into two sections.

"Well, at least I can see, " Dominic Deegan, Oracle for Hire.. told himself as she sat down in the middle of the road. It wasnt long before he heard a roar behind him, and when he turned around, two bright lights again shined straight at him. The next thing he knew he was several feet away from where he sat, sprawled out, bleeding. _Why didn't I see that before it happened? _he asked himself...before all before him began to dim and grow black.. _I have this feeling..no..have I lost my...power..._

He woke up in a hospital bed, that much he could tell. He had various things attached to him, and he wondered if this was really the work of some dark lord or maybe his crazy brother that was out to get him. He pulled himself up and looked around the room. A few paintings were on the walls, tons of equipment he didn't recognize, and a vase behind his bed. _Well, there is no moving me now..I..._ He paused his train of thought when he picked up on a conversation in the other room.

A young girl no older than 19 stood outside, talking to a doctor. "Is he going to be okay...Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to hit him, he came out of nowhere! I swear.." The girl sobbed uncontrollably grabbing on to the doctors jacket as the poor guy stood their stunned.

"Young lady he is just fine. Even though at the speed you were going on that road I..." he stopped when he saw the girl cry more, and he patted her back, "He is doing just fine. He is going to have a road of recovery ahead of him, but he is a strong lad and will do well."

The girl nodded and walked inside Dominic's room. They stared at each other. Dominic's face twisted up in frustration, and the girl's in fear.

"I..." they both said at the same time.

"Do you know what happened to me?" Dominic asked. "Im guessing this was some sort of accident..."

"I hit..you with my car..." She gets on his knees, "I'll be your personal slave for life, but please don't sue me I beg of you...I know this is probably a hopeless cause but I just cant afford it! I can barely afford this, Im probably going to have to sell my car I might even have to sell my cat! and I love my cat! I don't know what to do they are going to put me down for manslaughter or something awful like that and I just don't know what I would do. Im not a bad person and Im a really really really careful driver and everything and I just can't believe this happened I know you are probably going to do everything in your power to make me miserable but I know I deserve it but I ask no I beg for your forgiveness at least before you throw me to the courts?"

"Eh..."

The girl burst into tears again.

Dominic waved his hands, "No..don't cry..I..Its okay, It was an accident..I guess. My brother Gregory probably has put me in worse situations in the past." He reached over and put his hand on the girls shoulder, rubbing it so she would calm down. After she finally caught her breath, she wiped her eyes and sat down in the chair beside his bed.

"We will take care of you, I promise. Me and my cat, Spark."

"That..is the name of my cat?"

"Really, I guess that is a common name. Then again, I should rename my cat garbage disposal because he can really put it down."

Dominic smiles, "Are you sure you aren't harboring my cat?"

"I don't think so.." The girl smiles and takes a deep breath. "Im Lina. What is your name, if you dont mind me asking?"

"Dominic Deegan."

"Nice to meet you Dominic. You know, I havent heard of many people with that name. Its rather unique, you should be proud."

"Thank you..."

"Welcome."

Lina licks her lips and walks out. She comes back not two minutes later with a huge gift basket. "Here you go. I bought you this..I didn't think it would make anything better, but I was just thinking maybe it would at least brighten your mood. Not that Im trying to get out of being sued. Im not..I thought I would be anyway..err.."

Dominic raised his hand and motioned for her to set the basket down. "I appreciate that. Can you at least tell me where I am."

"Oh. We are at Righven General Hospital."

"This is Righven, then?" Dominic shook his head at asking a stupid question, but then again, he had just been hit by a car.

"Yes, this is Righven, near the city limits. Do you have any family or friends we can contact?"

"My brother..or maybe I should call Rachel.." _Or maybe I shouldn't... _"None of them have much money, but if I have to work off a bill or something I guess I could open a shop or something.." He shuddered at the mere thought of it.. "and answer stupid questions for money."

"You answer questions? Dealing with what topic. If you are one of those financial aid guys, I could sure use your help."

"Finan-..." Dominic blinked, "Oh, no no no...I'm a s-" _Wait a second, No you don't Dominic you arent going to get yourself looped into another pointless job asking questions for stupid people. Besides, if your second sight has really disappeared for some reason, it would be of no use to you anyway. Maybe there is something else I can do.._

"You are a s-..what?"

"S-..Se.Secretary?" Dominic kicked himself inwardly.

"Oh I had a friend that used to do that. A guy too. He was really good at it, better than a lot of the bimbos that came before him. He could take notes by pen faster than most people could type them, remember almost every single message given to him, and, oh this was pretty cool, he had a photographic memory. It is any bosses dream to have a super secretary like Robert. He's a great guy too, and if Im not mistaken, my second cousin. He moved recently though, and I can only hope he found as good a job as the one he had here. Hey, maybe you can take over where he left off. I know some of the guys around there, if you would like to try. I mean..not that you have to pay for anything since this is technically entirely my fault so dont worry the hospital bills are taken care of but Im just saying if you want ajob.."

Dominic nodded and patted Lina on the shoulder. "I get it, I get it. My wounds will heal pretty well, and if I cant find my way home by then, Im sure we will work something out. Just, try to stay calm okay?"

"Thanks. You sound just like Robert. Really smart and intelligent and all that."

Dominic leaned back against his pillow and shut his eyes. He didnt not want to move anywhere for quite a while, and took the time to enjoy the peace and quiet between Lina's chattering. She was only nervous, it didn't take his second sight to know that, and had a good heart as far as he could tell, but..she was as jittery as Spark when he waved fresh fish in front of his face. However, thinking of Spark made him think of home. He was obviously far away from it, and had no idea how he got here and even less of an idea on how to get back. Spark, Gregory, Pam...Luna...they could be scattered in this town of "Righven" or left back home. His second sight was dead to him, he was without his spellbook and not sure if he could summon up any kind of magic ability at all. The more he thought of it, the more he realized that he could very well be stranded there. How long would depend on fate itself, whether she chose to whisk him back home or make a new one where he lay now. Exhausting himself with thought, his only relief from his developing headache was sleep, and it came to him.

_When his dreams took flight, he saw himself standing on a ledge, looking out to a city. Enjoying the moment, Dominic took a puff from his pipe and shut his eyes feeling the wind brush through his hair. Unfortunatley for him, his scarf undid itself and lost itself in the breeze._

_"Arggh! Wait!" Dominic reached out for it but he just missed and the scarf was lost to him. "Well that is just great. I can't get another one for a whi-" He didn't finish his statement, as he noticed the ground beneath his feet begin to sink in a little. "Eh..." He stepped back as the ground broke down beneath him, and when it gave way, he slid down the face of the cliff, screaming for dear life. He grabbed a tight hold of a ledge to save his life, and when he looked up at it, he saw that he was holding on to an old book"_

Dominic woke up, dripping in sweat. He was shaking. "M-..s..." He curled up and caught his breath. "My second sight. Did it return to me...no no it..didn't but then what was that about. I could feel that was no ordinary dream." He reviewed the horrifying dream in his mind. "Lets see. I was on a cliff, I lost my scarf, I fell, and when I went to grab on I grabbed on to a book that was on a ledge. By..using that book it was the only way I could hold on and get my way back up." He shut his eyes. "It was a message. To get home, I have to find that book."

He fell back on his pillow. _If I had my stupid crystal ball, I bet I wouldnt have had to go through all that. I know Im in a different place. My mother told me of a situation like this once, she got whisked to one of the other worlds and it took her years to get back. She said it often happens to Deegans. Well this is just peachy. After all the luck Ive had, why couldnt this have happened to Jacob. That moron deserves to be lost forever._

Lina stepped in quietly. When she first looked at him, she thought he was asleep and sat down in the chair quietly and looked out the window. "What am I going to do? I just wish I could undo all this. Ive been so jittery lately I can't even drive."

Dominic turned his head and looked out the window too. He could see clearly now all the tall buildings and moving vehicles. This only proved what he had thought before was right. At the moment, his main concern was dealign with Lina "Accidents happen," he stated "So try not to worry."

She smiled slightly and turned her head to him. "You are awake?"

"I am unless I talk in my sleep. And quite well I might add."

"Funny too huh? Okay okay. Well you amazingly survived the accident with very minor injuries. In fact, they are going to let you go later today. They did say that if you felt anything out of the ordinary to report back to the hospital right away. Did you think of anyone you wanted to contact?"

_Until I figure out where the others are, I have nothing. _"No, I haven't."

Lina nodded and stood up. "When you are ready to go, I'll drive you home, carefully. I told you before I don't live too far from here so I shouldnt get into any major accidents while...Im not making myself look very good here right now am I?"

Dominic sat up and stretched. "Its okay, but have you seen my glasses?"

Lina sat back down in the chair and thought about it for a moment. "I guess I can go back over to where it occured and looked for them, but I wouldn't be too hopeful." She cringed as she saw Dominic made another ugly face, but when he saw her cringe, he managed a smile.

"Well can we at least go look for them? If they are not destroyed or anything I would like to have them back."

"Oh, yes, of course, no problem." Lina grabbed her soda and sipped to make sure she didn't turn into a nervous wreck. Dominic rolled his eyes at this, and hoped that once he got out of this hospital she would stop acting like he was goign to explode at any moment. _She almost reminds me of Luna_, he thought, _Worried that the sky is going to fault and that it would be her fault._

"Until then, is there anything you would like to talk about?" Dominic asked Lina.

"Actually Im glad you asked that." Lina brightened up a bit and pulled a table out so Dominic could reach it. She put down a puzzle box, emptied out all the pieces, and smiled at him. "Wanna help me put together this puzzle?''

"Puzzle? Well er..." He looked at the puzzle. He had seen similar sorts of games, but never one like this before. "So what do you do with it, exactly''

Lina frowned. "I mustve really gave you head trauma.."

"What..Oh..I just..havent, played this in a while. He watched Lina fiddle with a few pieces, then grabbed some of his own and put them together. "Yeah, we just put these together."

Lina propped the puzzle box up on the edge of the table. "To make it a little easier, this is a picture of the finished product."

For about two hours, Dominic and Luna intensely worked on two puzzled with very small pieces. One was a picture of a city scape, and the other was of a mountain range, which made Dominic think about his horrible dream. Dominic couldnt say that he wasn't enjoying this, anything that pushed him to the limit and caused him to sharpen his mind was always a good thing. Even though this was not magic based, he considered it valuble training to improve his mental abilities.

"Luna wouldve loved this.." he said quietly.

"Did you call me?" Lina looked up at Dominic.

"No, just thinking about a friend. I'm sure I'll find her later though."

Lina started to work on the puzzle again, but not without a feeling of uneasiness. Somehow this poor young man was lost, confused, and because of her, hurt. She barely kept herself from getting upset again, and breathed a sigh of relief when Dominic snapped the last piece in place.

"Its about the time the docs said you could go. I'll step out so you can get dressed, we will talk to the front desk, and then I will take you back home to relax."

Dominic nodded. He pushed the table aside, got his clothes, and dressed quickly. "If Gregory was here I wouldn't have had to stay in this place more than five minutes. Gregory, wherever you are man, Im going to find you. Im going to find all of you. Well, except for Stunt and Bumper. They can stay lost."


	2. The Recipe

Nothing prophetic came to him in the night, and this made Dominic wake up even grumpier than usual. He still was not sure where the heck he was, Luna was not curled up at his side, Spark wasn't bugging him about being starved to death...and..

_Well, that last part isn't so bad,_ he smiled, and sat up and looked around the room. There was was green couch he was sitting on, a phone to his right on the wall, and a small shelf to his left. A foot or so away from him stood a low lying table, with all sorts of publications spread about. A long tall container housed pencils and pens, and across the room their was a drawer filled with different colors of paper. Right behind that was a window, and when he walked up to it, he got a good glance of the rather spacious backyard that Lina had.

Of course there were several things he did not recognize right off. There were many cases that held discs with writing on them, the language they were written in he could not pinpoint. On the table with the pencils, there was also a strange device that had several buttons on it, and a little light that glowed towards the top of it. He reached over and picked it up, examining it as best as he could.

"Well, I'm lost as to what this is." He set it back down in his place. His eye then caught a large box on a stand in the corner of the room. He stretched and headed over there carefully, but froze in place just as Lina walked in the room.

"Oh, you wanted the TV?" She grabbed the remote from the side of the couch and snapped it on. Dominic, completely caught off guard by the sudden bright flash of images and noise, stumbled back over the table, his legs flying up and his head going straight into the couch. Lina blinked. Dominic blinked. Then Lina shook her head and helped the poor confused guy sit up.

"Are you okay? I guess you mustve been pretty sleepy. Im like that too when I first wake up." Lina looked him over, going over in her mind what horrible experience he mustve been through after being hit by her car. She also thought of any mental injuries the doctors mightve picked up on. Her mind once again wandered to law suits. She swallowed hard in her throat.

By now Dominic was waving his hands in front of Lina's face. "Are YOU okay?" He asked, keeping one eye on the flashy noisy thingy and the other on Lina. Lina smiled and tried to push her worries to the back of her mind as she nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine. Do you mind if I watch this cooking show? There is a great chili recipe program coming on, and I want to be able to hear it from the kitchen."

Dominic played the silent one and nodded. _This is definately not the world I am used to. But I cant tell whether these contraptions are magic based or not, not with my own abilities lacking. I should remain careful, but if she is really ignorant of where Im from, I don't think its safe for me to let on._

He leaned back and watched the flickering TV screen. It was amazing to him, even though it was more interesting to him to figure out how it worked rather than what was actually on. He crossed his arms and studied it carefully, but was interrupted minutes later by a familiar but obnoxious noise.

"MeeeOooOW!" In trotted in a black and white cat with yellow eyes. It hopped up on Dominic, rubbing himself all around him before settling into his lap.

"Spark you silly cat!" Lina reached over and scratched his ears. "Do you want me to get him off of you, Dominic?"

"Its fine. " He petted the cat and Spark looked up at him like he was the best thing in the world. _Now this is true appreciation, right here. I gotta introduce you to my cat, buddy. You are one **f**abulously **f**antastic **f**eline **f**riend._

The cat gave him an odd look.

_Heh. Just because he can't talk doesn't mean he can't understand. _He scratched under Spark's chin and recieved more purring.

"Just to let you know, Dominic, " Lina spoke as she tidied up the room, " I am going to attend a big chili cookoff today right here in town. The best cooks from all around the country are going to be there, and Im really looking forward to showing my cooking skills. Hey, you should try and enter yourself! Everyone loves chili."

"Is it hard to make?"

"Basic chili? Nah! I mean, the first time I entered I was a real rookie too.Listen, if you can cook at all, and follow a basic recipie, you will do great. May not win all top honors, but you will gain a name for yourself just by trying. The best part is, you get to make a lot of friends." Lina beamed at that last statement. "Why don't you give it a try for me? Please...I promise you won't be disappointed."

Dominic shrugged. "I am a decent cook. Not too sure how good I will be at chili, but I've been in the kitchen long enough."

"Great! Listen, do you..have any extra clothes on you? If not I'll have my friend drop off some for ya so you can get clean clothes after you wash up. Afterwards I'll give you a private chili lesson. Does that sound, A-OK?

"You are rather upbeat this morning, and yes," Dominic smiled.

"I am when it comes to cooking. Its a real passion for me. Im going to go run in the shower, get cleaned up myself, and by that time my friend should be here with the clothes. I'll get you all set up, and we will let the cooking begin! Until then...watch what you can of the show! It'll teach you something. Maybe you will have a culinary vision that will inspire you." She blew a kiss to Dominic and left.

"Vision. That is what I need, allright." Dominic's mood soured as he rested his head in his hands. "I know the key to everything is something about that book. If only I would-"

"One more thing!" Lina popped in and smiled at Dominic. "Someone spotted your glasses. They escaped unharmed from what I hear. Im gonna get them dropped off along with your clothes."

Dominic gave Lina a thumbs up and Lina left again. He focused again on the TV, this time, trying to see what the people said about chili.

"Did you doze off ?"

Dominic opened his eyes to see Lina hovering over him. "I thought it might be nice if I just prepared you a nice warm bath. The shower head has been acting up, and a bath is relaxing, even for guys, right? Fresh clothes are sitting on the sink, so, I'll show you to the bathroom. Oh yeah, your glasses are in there too."

Lina lead Dominic out of the sitting room, into the living room and then down a hallway to the bathroom in the corner. She flipped a switch and a nice scent permiated the air, and she grabbed some towels off the top shelf and handed them to him.

"If you need anything just shout. And don't worry, my eyes are sealed. Not that I could see anything anyway, all those bubbles provide a nice cover. She stuck her finger in the bathwater and pressed it to her cheek. "Its just the right temperature. Enjoy. I'll even turn on some soft music for you. " She looked to the CD player sitting on a higher shelf above the towels, and on tip toes she flips it on. "There. " She waved to him and left, shutting the door behind her.

_This Lina girl is different, I can say that for a fact. _He got undressed and slipped into the bathwater. _This would be the perfect time for a nice smoke, but thanks to Gregory, I hate smoking now. Guess its better for me anyway..._ He made a face. _I wonder if its too late to start up another life threatening yet extremely relaxing addiction._

As he did his best to get comfortable in the bath, he almost jumped in surprise as he saw a rubber ducky float in from behind him. He squoze the thing. It squeaked. _What in the hell is this thing doing here? She isnt a child._ He looked around the well decorated bathroom, and then noticed that the rubber duck, juvenille as it was, fit the decor.

Outside, Lina was setting up the kitchen for her little chili lesson. She got out all the ingredients she needed from the various shelves, and then went around searching for the necessary utensils. "I really need to better organize this kitchen." She muttered to herself and then grabbed a recipe card from her countertop organizer.

"Okay, the recipe calls for..:

1/2 pound sliced bacon

4 pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large white onion, chopped

1 to 2 fresh jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled

1/3 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 (14-ounce) can beef broth

1 cup brewed coffee

1 cup water

1 (28 to 32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes with puree

2 (19-ounce) cans small red beans or kidney beans, rinsed and drained"

She scratched her head and starts searching for all the ingredients. "Maybe this one is a little too tough for a new chilli head. But then again, learning something like this might give him a real advantage as a newbie...but.." she stops and crosses her arms. "We are missing oregano...wait, I bought some over..here!" she grabs the oregano out of a bag on the table and smiles in her success. "Brilliant! Now all I have to do is wait for ol lazy to get out of the tub and we can get cooking. Hope I didnt make that bath too relaxing."

It turns out Lina wasn't too far from the truth. Dominic had about fallen asleep when he noticed that he had been sitting there for quite a while. He stood up and grabbed a towel, wiping off his face and then wrapping the towel around his waist. He looked in the mirror at his tangled hair, and grumbled to himself. "Next time Im abducted Im bringing a good hair brush." He undoes most of the tangles with his hand and then shakes his hair to get most of the water out. Next, he toweld himself off again and grabbed the clothing provided for him. A T-Shirt that said, 'Let us establish a formal government of anarchy' and jeans that had little skulls on them. He couldn't read what was on the T-shirt anyway, but black was a good color so he slipped it on anyway.

About then was when he caught a whiff of the ingredients being prepared in the kitchen. _Must be time for my lesson. _He hurriedly finished dressing, put back on his own shoes and made his way to the kitchen.

"I was just about to get you out. This isnt the easiest chili recipe to start off with, but I think you can handle it. Read it off to me so you can get familiar, okay?" She handed him the recipe card.

_GahhH! What in the heck does this thing say? I can't read this language. Im going to have to either own up or think of something. Or maybe there is a way to...yes, I got it._

"I can't read this. Im sorry." He straightened his glasses. "When I said I was new to the area I wasn't kidding, and haven't learned the written word yet." _Hope that was vague enough._

"So you are from overseas?" Lina asked.

Dominic nodded. "Yeah I am. You know what they say, its easier to speak it than to write it."

Lina shook her head, "Its the other way around."

_Damn. _"Is it?"

Lina put her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah, but I understand. I'll read it for you, and go through everything step by step. You'll do just fine, and I'll make sure you get a booth next to mine in case you need any help. Its not technically allowed, but Ive seen enough people do it without being caught. It aint about winning, its about playing the game, after all."

Frustrated, Dominic tapped his fingers against his arm. He didn't like lying to Lina, he didn't like lying at all really. It was diffferent when he was trying to outsmart some dimwitted mage, and it was fun to lie to Stunt and Bumper, but this girl was opening her home to him, and it just didn't settle right with him. Still, he followed her every instruction, and it didn't take him long to catch on, giving pinches of this and that to the chili pot to really give off a great aroma.

Lina was a little more than surprised. "Are you sure you haven't cooked chili before?

"Nope, not at all. I have the general idea of what to do now. Tell me, have you ever put fish in your chili?"

Lina's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I think some people have, but I never tried."

_Thanks to my wonderful cat for putting fish on the brain. _"Just wondering.." Dominic watched Lina as she set the pot to simmer, and then poured them drinks. Lina handed him one and sat back down in the living area.

"We can sit down for a little bit, but I don't want to leave that unattended too long. It does need stirring."

"I can stay and do that if you want."

"Sure. In 3 hours we leave for the competition. And remember, above all else, have fun."

"You are beginning to sound like my mom." Dominic chuckled.

Lina lowered her head in mock disappointment. "Thats what all guys say. Guess that is why I never get any dates."

The two both shared a laugh, and with the cooking show on just loud enough for both to hear, finished their chili recipe and tasted it before leaving to the tournament.

The sun shined brightly down on the World Championship Chili cookoff. Fifty teams competed for top honors, a parade was marching through the main streets, and music, laughing and dancing were everywhere. A lot of time had passed since Dominic had attended a festival, so he took the chance to explore amost of it before hsettling down in his booth.

He was a whiz at memorizing spells and magical theories, so memorizing a chili recipe was no problem for him. Lina had encouraged him before he left to add just the right seasonings to delight his personal tastes, but never forget the basics of a good chili. Keeping that in mind, he set out all of the ingredients that the cookoff provided for him, and then took out his own. Cooking time had not officially begun, but Lina or his second sight didn't have to tell him the importance of being ready ahead of time. Once everythign was set out, he took a step back from the table and made sure there was nothing he was missing.

"A new one? Well nice to meet you."

He turned around to see a young man, about his age, wearing a long coat, dark grey jeans, and sneakers. Sunglasses hid his eyes, and long black hair cascaded down his shoulders. "Do you need any help? I like giving out pointers to the new ones. Last time I helped a girl out, she won second place overall. I guess i just have that magic touch. Problem is, I can't seem to get it to work on myself."

Dominic tried to keep a straight face. There was something really off about this guy, but nothing he could put his finger on without his second sight. "No Im doign fine. I already have a coach. Do you know Lina?"

"Lina who? Lina Dojin, the really tall girl with the red hair and pigtails, or Lina Starrow, not so tall, big brown eyes, and a cute ass."

_You'd think with that sort of talk I was back home. Jerks. _"...the latter."

"She is pretty good. Won third place overall twice, and a few honorable mentions for the miscellanious category. Stick with her, I have a feeling she will take you far. Well, its off to spend some quality time with my recipe book." He patted the book tucked under his arm. "See ya.." He turned and walked off.

"Yeah..see y-" Dominic tilted his head and looked at the book he was carrying. Brown, leather bound, a ribbon bookmark, slightly warn...it was the exact same book from his dream.

"Don't tell me that is what I'm supposed to be looking for.." Dominic gritted his teeth together. He stepped out into the crowd to try to reach him, but by then the dark haired stranger had disappeared. "Ive gotta get that thing.."

Lina squeezed her way through and led Dominic even farther away from his target, back to his cooking station. "Everything is about to begin in fifteen minutes. You ready?"

"Umm," Dominic kept looking over Lina's shoulder for the man, "Yeah. Ready."

"Good." She turned his head back toward his station. "Stay focused, go by instinct, and have fun. I'll keep an eye on ya from my station, and make sure you dont dump raisins in their by mistake." She giggled and patted his back, "Good luck."

Yet again Dominic was stuck in a stupid situation he couldn't get out of, and kept far far away from where he actually needed to be. This was beginning to feel like home already.


	3. The Theft

He sweated. He worked. He clenched his fist at frustration at faulty equipment. He added the perfect spices, seasonings, and salts. He stirred the damn thing till his arms hurt. He rushed the finished product to the judges table just as the announement sounded.

**All chili heads put down your spoons and head all entries to the judges table immediately. The cooking is done, the battle is over! The awards ceremony will take place in one hour at the main events tent. Thank you and enjoy the rest of the festival.**

_Chili heads, and Gregory says I'm a geek. _Dominic stuck his hands in his jacket and walked into the crowd once again. He had to find that man, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to see what that book said. Squeezing his way through the clowns blowing balloons, jugglers, people wearing giant cheese hats, and music so bad that his ears hurt, he finally spotted the young man sitting down towards the corner of a building, in a foldup chair, reading that book.

_What is the best way to approach this? I can't just stand there and stare at him. I have to get him to put down that book. _"Hey." Dominic waved shyly.

"Oh, hello. Tough battle for you?"

"Tough battle?"

"Yeah. It feels like we get less and less time each year. It can be frustrating if you are like me, who loves to spend a long amount of time making sure things are perfect." The man always had a sweet smile on his face, but seldom did his eyes leave the book.

"What are you reading?" Dominic pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards, resting his arms against the top of it.

"My recipe book."

"The cooking is over, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but if you are a chili head like me, you wanna memorize every recipe. There are other competitions I have to prepare for too. Hey, you mind watching this while I run to the bathroom? Sipped a few too many sodas during competition."

_Thank you moron! _"Sure. "

The young man nodded and got up from his seat, setting his chair on the book. Before he left, however, he took a small rope with a lock on the end of it out of his pocket. He strapped the thing around his book and locked it, and with a friendly wave, disappeared into the crowd.

Dominic immediately picked up the book and started to fiddle with the lock. It would be so easy to break with one of his spells, but he already knew that resource wasn't available to him. "I hope the bathrooms are on the other side of the fairgrounds" he mumbled as he tugged at it.

Five minutes passed. Then six. Then seven. Dominic didn't want to spend too much time on opening this thing, because the guy was only on a bathroom trip. He was hoping he could simply open the thing, read what he needed to read, and set it back like it had never been tampered with, but with each passing moment that became less possible.

"I need a knife to just cut this stupid rope. " Dominic looked over his shoulder at the crowd when an idea hit him. "I could just go back to my station and use one of my cooking knives. Its now or never.." He stood up and walked off just as the man was returning.

"Hey! Where are you going with my recipe book!" Dominic heard him yell. His eyes widened and he pushed his way through the crowd quickly. A few glances showed him that the guy was in hot pursuit, this thing was important to him and he wasn't about to let some rookie steal it.

_He knows where my tent is. I have to find another knife to cut it with. _Dominic searched the area frantically and saw a pair of scissors over at the face painting booth. _Perfect. _He more than shoved a couple kids out of the way, grabbed the scissors and smiled at the surprised face painting clown. "Gotta use these real quick, thank you, bye.." He reached for the book which he had stashed in the inside pocket of his jacket just to find out it wasn't there.

"You've got to be kidding me! I lost it!!" He scanned the crowd for any sign of it, retracing his steps without being seen by the book's owner. "C'mon..where is it? I-" He spotted it back over where balloon animals were being made. A young girl with blonde pigtails was about to reach it, but Dominic beat her too it. "Thank you so much hun for finding my book.." He nodded to her and with the scissors tightly clenched in his hand, found a quiet spot out of the crowds to open the book at.

Carefully, he cut the rope and opened the booklet. He started reading:

'Basic Information on Gateways and Passageways. A guide to the various theories and facts dealing with and involving ancient and modern designs and technologies.'

He stopped short when the writing faded due to what looked like rain damage. He kept turning frantically, but most of the pages were so old and saturated he could barely read a word. "I can't believe this..." Dominic growled, but the growl faded when he finally found some legible writing. It was in the same language that Lina showed her, and from what he could tell from the pictures drawn beside it, a recipe.

"Wait a second..." He scanned the rest of the page, then the ones following. "Chili recipes?!? This is a stupid cookbook!" He closed the book and smacked himself in the head with it, but then turned back to the first page. "Basic Information on Gateways and Passageways...how could I be so stupid? The fact that I could read and understand that shows that this once contained the information I needed. But what do I do now?" He sighed deeply and ripped that page out. "Ive got one angry chili chef on my tail.''

Nervously, Dominic came out of hiding and set the book down on the chair where the man had left it. He bound it with new ribbon, in attempts of an apology, and went back to his own table.

"Why would I have a vision if this was the only thing I got from it? This isn't going to get me home." Dominic slumped down depressed at his own station, resting his head on the table. Poor guy didn't even have any time to sulk before Lina came in.

"Its almost time for judging!" She yanked Dominic's seat from under him and pulled him towards the main tent. _Im beginning to wonder if she is really Rachel in disguise. Nah, she is actually wearing clothing.. _

"Okay, Okay..." Dominic managed a smile as he and Lina made their way to the tent and took a seat towards the middle. Lina shut her eyes and looked down, twiddling her thumbs nervously and letting out obviously depressed sighs.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked her.

"I'm beginning to wonder why I even came.."

_Am I talking to the same Lina? _"Don't you love this event?"

"Yeah, I do, and each year I fool myself into thinking I have a chance. And each year I'm proven terribly wrong. I don't know, do you think I should just give up?"

"Wait a second. One of the contestants I talked to said you placed a few times. Thats quite an accomplishment, You should be proud of yourself."

Lina shook her head, "That is all fine and good, but what is the point if you never advance. If you are stuck at one spot, and never rise to another, you will never really know where you are capable of. In life, you should never just settle. You have to learn, you have to practice..you have to keep going."

He smirked and put an arm around her, "You should listen to your own advice."

"I'm trying, but I'm not succeeding at it." She licked her lips across her teeth, and Dominic noticed something he hadn't earlier.

"What are those things on your teeth? " He moved in closer to her for a better look.

Somewhat startled, Lina got out a pocket mirror and checked her teeth for any food particles. " I have food in there somewhere?"

"No, I mean those bands on your teeth."

"My braces? I've had them for years.. I had some real dental problems when I was little. Two of my bottom teeth were extended past my lip, they looked like elephant tusks or something. It was really embarrassing"

_Tusks. Luna. _His expression softened thinking of his girfriend back home. "You shouldn't have to change for anyone, Lina. You were fine just the way you were, you didn't need any sort of alteration."

"I looked like a freak, Dominic. I was pretty ugly, still am really, but at least now I don't look like some sort of a monster."

"Hey, she is NOT a monster!" He snapped at her angrily.

"She?"

"Er..." Dominic cringed, trying to think of a way out of this, "My friend had a similar problem. Im sensitive about anyone calling her names. Sorry if I yelled."

Lina smiled again and leaned back in her chair. "No problem. I hope I didn't say anything to offend."

"No. But, you are fine the way you are, okay?"

Lina reached over and rubbed Dominic's shoulder. "I really appreciate you saying that. Thank you very much."

Finally, it was time to announce the winning chili heads. A burly man got up on stage with a list, and three younger women stood behind him holding trophies of various sizes. "I would like to thank you all for coming out and participating in this lovely festival today, " he stated as the crowd around him roared, "But Im gonna skip all the thank yous and get right to what you want to hear. Our honerable mentions have already been given out, so lets go straight to third place.For a cash award of 3,000 dollars, the third place trophy goes to ...tent 204, Mary Beth and Eliza Kendall!"

The mother and daughter team ran up to the stage, almost grabbing the trophy from the girl on the far right and then waving at the crowd. They stood there for pictures and soaked up the spotlight.

"For a cash award of 5,000 dollars...the second place trophy goes to an individual who has never entered the competition before yet wowed us all with his tasty concoction. Tent 103, Dominic Deegan."

"Whoah..." Lina stared at Dominic.

Dominic stared at the stage, and slowly got up amongst the thundering applause. The girl standing in the middle shook his hand and handed him the trophy, while the announcer handed him a huge check. Lina stood up and clapped longer than anyone else, and the most Dominic could utter for the next ten minutes was, well, nothing.

Back at Lina's home, Lina cooked up a huge dinner to celebrate. "I can't believe you man! How in the heck did you beat me in your first year! You are amazing!" she exclaimed. "I still can't believe Lizzie DeVon beat you, I've tasted her food and ants would turn it way, but still, I just don't know what to say."

"Me either." Dominic stretched out on the sofa. "You were right though, Lina, this competition is fun. "

"When you win, of course it is!" She brought in a steaming plate of steak and veggies to the couch. "I would've cooked you chili, but you deserve a break after cleaning up like that. Congratulations, Dominic."

Dominic ate slowly, trying his best to enjoy his meal. _I have the first piece to what is probably going to be one complicated puzzle. I should be glad, but going through all that and finding so little tears at my nerves. I'm about to pull a Rachel and break something with my face._

Lina sat down beside him, crossing her legs and patting his back. "You look distracted?"

"Kinda. Its been a long day and I'm not really thinking straight."

"You miss home, don't you?

Dominic looked up into Lina's eyes. They showed the same care and concern that Luna had shown him every day at home. He pressed his lips together and nodded.

"I know what its like to be lost. I know this is going to sound silly, but once I was travelling with two of my friends on a mountain hike. Being the stupid little kid I was, I got seperated from them and hideously lost. To top it all off, a storm started, and I was drenched. There was no shelter around, no one around for miles and," a tear came to her eye as she continued, "I really and truly believed I was going to die out there. Eventually a ranger found me and I was taken home, but I couldn't sleep for weeks. Try not to worry too much. Its hard to find your way back when you don't know the right questions to ask or the right numbers to call. But just as I did back then, you will find you way back. Its just a matter of when. " She got up and left the room, leaving him to eat.

Dominic finished his meal in silence and got the blankets and covers from the closet to prepare his bed on the couch again. _I will find my way back, she is right. This is nothing but a minor annoyance I have to get past. Luna, please don't worry about me, wherever you are. _He grabbed his pillow and scooted himself under the covers.

After checking the house to make sure all doors were locked and all appliances were shut off, she stepped in the sitting room to check on Dominic. "Did you clean up okay?"

Dominic nodded sleepily.

"How about brush your teeth?''

"I rinsed my teeth out, yes."

"Ugh. Guys." she dragged him out of his cozy bed and into the bathroom. Getting a brand new toothbrush from its wrapper, she applied toothpaste and shoved it in his mouth. "Guys go way too often without brushing well enough. Your teeth are not going to rot out on my watch." She grabbed her own toothbrush and started to brush, and Dominic followed suit.

_This stuff tastes kinda good. _He brushed up, down and all around, and spit out after Lina did it. _I should get some of this for Spark, I'm getting rather tired of his fish-breath. And Rachel with HER fish breath. _He turned to leave the bathroom, but didn't make it one step before Lina pulled him back in front of the mirror.

"Floss. You have to floss." She gave him a thread of floss and proceeded on her own teeth.

_Clean, isn't she? _Dominic flossed his teeth as well as he could, and after a couple 'inspections' by Lina, got back to bed and curled up under the covers. In his jacket pocket rested the paper that he had grabbed from the recipe book earlier. Somehow he would use that information to find whatever else he needed to get home, and if he were lucky, his dreams would help him with that.

It was never easy for him to go to sleep without Luna by his side, not after he had become accustomed to it. He shut his eyes and thought about her, her smile, her laugh, and her brilliance in magical theories. These thoughts put him in a blissful state, and just before he went to sleep he uttered the words to his love so far away..

"Stay with me.."


	4. The Trip

It was early in the morning and Lina was clumsily doing the cleaning she forgot last night. She picked up the junk on her bedroom floor, got all her laundry together and piled it in the laundry room, and started to dust before she yet out a huge yawn. The sun wasn't up yet, so before she got too into her chores she decided to head to the bathroom and shock herself awake with ice cold water.

"Towel. Water. Head. Hair. Dry." Lina yawned and reached for the dryer. She then stared at the dryer. "No no, I have to wash first. Maybe it was a mistake getting up this early." She sat down on the bathtub and rested her head on her knees, when she heard her cat calling. "Fantastic, what does he want?" She stood up wobbling and trudged after the sound, "I'm making a new law Spark, no feedings before sunrise."

Spark was a rather playful cat, and he was busy batting things off the table that was in front of the couch where Dominic slept. Lina rolled her eyes at it, but he got her attention when he grabbed Dominic's glasses and ran off with them.

"Oh...dear..SPARK!" Lina ran after her cat. The cat jumped up on the television, then the computer, then through her legs and into the kitchen. Lina growled and tried to catch him, but the cat was as slippery as prison soap. "Damnit..you MORON CAT! Don't go breaking things that don't belong to me!!" She chased him into the kitchen, where he got up on the counter and then on the coffee maker, and performed the most unspeakable horror that ever existed.

Drop. Crack. Shatter.

"Ehheh!! YOU STUPID CAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!" Out of anger she chased him around the house again, but when Spark took refuge in a small corner of her bedroom closet, there was no getting him out of there and the chase ended. Defeated, Lina slipped back to the kitchen and picked up the fragments of Dominic's glasses. Tears formed in her eyes. "WhatamIgonnadoIfhedidn'tsuemebeforeheissogoingtosuemenowandIstillneedacollegeeducatioooooonnnnnandamanicure." She sat down on the kitchen floor and tried some of those deep cleansing breaths people see on infomercials.

"Okay. I just have to practice what I am going to say, " Lina lectured herself, "Dominic. About your glasses, they magically flew to the kitchen and...okay that is great Lina think of something that could actually happen. Okay. Dominic, I was cleaning and, well, Spark..he..."

"Knocked over my glasses?"

Lina stared straight ahead of her. "If I don't look, will you not be there standing behind me."

"Afraid not, "the grumpy one replied.

Lina slowly turned her head, keeping her eyes tightly shut. She gave him the glasses with the shattered frame. She opened her eyes.

"Nope, still not happy."

Lina punches the wall in frustration. "I don't get it. Those stupid things can survive it when they are flung ten feet in a car accident, but they get in the hands of my cat and everything falls apart."

Dominic stuffed the broken glasses in his pocket and headed to the fridge. He grabbed a soda from the shelf, leaned against the wall, and stared at Lina, sipping his drink.

"I can fix this. Okay, all we need to do is take you to the optometrist and get you some new glasses. I'm supposed to wear glasses myself, but I think my vision is getting better so I just kinda stopped wearing them."

"Is that why you ran me over with that thing?"

Lina looked down, "It was dark!"

_Those same specs have served me well for years. I better be able to get the same type. Maybe if I had a certain ability I couldve stopped this thing from happening in the first place. _He set his drink down and grabbed a chair and sat in it. " You have anything to eat?"

"Yeah, but we are leaving now."

"Huh?" Dominic said with one eye still half closed. _I need sleep. Maybe I will wake up back HOME if Im lucky._

"We are going to get you new glasses. I'm pretty sure I have enough money in the bank to take care of it. " She grabbed her jacket, slipped on some sneakers, and moved Dominic around like a half-asleep doll as she helped him get his jacket on. "I'll drive."

They walked out to the car and Lina opened his door for him. He stared at the thing in curiousity, he had only seen the things from the outside, but never from the inside. The other day they had the pleasure of walking to the festival, and even from the hospital, so this would be a new experience for him.

"Are you getting in?" Lina swung around to the driver's seat, "Buckle up for safety hunneh!"

"Right." Dominic looked at the belt and tilted his head.

"Oh, I always get confused in new cars too. " Lina reached over him and took out an old cup from the cupholder and buckled him in now that it was visible where it went. She went back over to her side, buckled in, and took off.

_This is different. _He looked out the window at the city lights they passed. They had a certain beauty to them, the flickering of lights from the buildings mixing in with that of the cars, swirling around. The city was a living organism, all cities were, but this one had such life to it that Dominic couldn't help but be amazed.

"Can you gawk anymore, tourist?" Lina snickered seeing Dominic's reaction.

"I am..from a much smaller area."

"I get it. You are a small town boy. Never been to the big city before, have you? Well in that case, tonight I'm going to take you for a real night out on the town! I personally don't drink, but if thats your thing I know of some good bars."

"Sounds good."

"It is still a little ways to my optometrist, so I'm going to get on the highway. Most of the things I need are here in town, but this guy is real good and cheaper than anything I can find here." Lina turned on the radio in her car, and like most people under the age of thirty, blasted it loud enough so everyone around could hear it.

_Help. Me. _Dominic clutched onto his seat tightly. His ears throbbed from the music, and he couldn't even estimate how fast they were going. "Isn't this a little fast? I don't mind waiting, really."

"C'mon small town, you want to get there sometime this century, don't you?" Lina pressed down on the gas pedal more, hitting 95 mph. "I have a tendancy to speed some, but I slow for cops if that is what you are worried about."

"Wh-Whatever happened to a good fast horse.." he muttered as they hit 100mph, "No one has to get anywhere this quickly!"

"Oh this is my favorite song!" Lina cranked up the volume even more, and Dominic clamped his hands over his ears, and when he looked out the side window, saw an image flickering in the window. It was his brother Jacob, holding that same book, grinning at him.

"JACOB!!" Dominic called, and Lina tapped his shoulder. He looked at her and she turned down the volume.

"Were you trying to talk to me?"

"Now that I've got your attention, can you please turn the music down?"

Lina nodded and set it back down to a somewhat normal point. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

Dominic didn't hear that question because he was too busy staring at the window. The image was gone, and his heart was beating a mile a minute. _My brother has the book! Why?!? I can't fight him now! Maybe I should try again, see if I can predict anything... _He shut his eyes but all was blank. _Looks like Im at the msercy of completely random visions. I'm getting nowhere fast. If Im going to achieve anything in the next hundred years I'll have to ask Lina for help._

Lina was singing along to her favorite song. She sounded pretty good, as she held her one hand on the steering wheel and tilted her seat back. "All my love, is what I'm going to give you every day, every day I love you, I'll be there..."

She stared at a magazine tapping her foot. Lina looked up at the clock, and then back down at the magazine. "When is he going to be done in there? I mean, I got here early enough he better not be in a waiting room." She tilted her head back and stared at a crack in the ceiling, and tried to find pictures in the grooves in the molding on the ceiling. After finding a whacked out looking elephant and a monkey, she got bored. "I have to keep myself occupied somehow. I could try another one of those magazines, but they look about as interesting as the elephant and the monkey."

Due to a lack of sleep that morning, Lina dozed off and began to drool on the magazine:

She dreamt that she was standing in a field, enjoying a beautiful spring day. The scent of the flowers were awesome to her, and they tickled her senses like nothing she had experienced before. Feeling lighter than air, she ran into the endless field. Nothing was in her way, not a stray branch, not a cold wind. In mid run, she came to a clumsy stop as she saw something twisting around in the breeze. It came closer, and she ran towards it and tried to catch it. Soon enough, it fell straight into her hands. It was...a scarf. Dominic's scarf.

Dominic walked out, hands in pockets.He walked over and shook the sleeping girl. Lina choked on her spit and sat up, then stumbled to her feet looking around wildly. "Eh..whoah..I mustve fallen asleep. So how did it go?"

Dominic handed her a yellow slip, "I am supposed to go to the store and hand this to them. Then they will make the right glasses for me. And a pair "

"You got contacts? Cool." Lina opened the door for him and they headed downstairs to the store. "I was meaning to get around to snagging myself a pair. I find them much more attractive then bulky old glasses."

_My glasses were not bulky. Its a look. _"I'll probably end up just sticking with my glasses. I only hope they can make them just like my old ones."

"I doubt that will be a problem," she told him as they entered the eyeglass store. Shelves upon shelves of different designs, every possible combination and tint, sat on display in front of them. Dominic was slightly in awe, but shook it off and began to look around.

"Since you are not used to this system I'll fill you in. What you do is you find the style you want and give it to the guy at the counter. We come back a week later and they have your glasses ready in the style you want. Since you are getting contacts, you will have to decide what color you want those in as well?"

"Let me make sure I get this straight. Contacts are like..mini glasses..that you put straight on your eye?" Dominic asked just loud enough so only Lina could hear.

"Just choose the style you want and go up to the counter. Once you are there you can ask the girl there how to apply contacts. Its really easy, or so my friends tell me."

Dominic didn't spend too much time searching around, at the very bottom on the right wall of the room he found a pair of glasses that were identical to his old ones. These had a slight silver tint to them, but it was the closest he would ever get in this store. He shuffled up to the counter and gave it over to the woman, who processed his order and gave him a slip.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me how to apply contacts?" he asked, with an approving wink from Lina.

The woman nodded. "New to contacts. Just follow these simple steps." She pulled out an instruction sheet from a drawer, and then set up a mirror. "I need to put mine in anyway, so I'll show you straight off."

Dominic watched closely as she held open her eyelids and put the tiny object over her eye. Once the woman finished, she noticed Dominic's less-than-thrilled expression and patted his shoulder.

"It looks painful, doesn't it? My youngest daughter used to tell me the same thing. If you take care of your contacts and your eyes, it will be as simple as putting on a pair of glasses."

_Sure. Whatever. _"Okay. I will be back here soon, thanks for your help. " He turned back to Lina and they both walked out of the building to the car. _I've been avoiding this situation long enough. I have to tell Lina what is going on. I have no idea how to navigate my way around this world, and Im completely cut off communication wise from my own._

"Lina?"

"Yes, Dominic."

"I'm looking for a very important book. It's called, " he dug down in his pocket and got the page he tore out earlier, "Basic Information on Gateways and Passageways. It might not be written in a language you understand, but its essential that I find it."

'' Sure, we will swing by the national library then."

_Library. Well duh, I could've thought of that. _"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"So what do you need the book for? A project of some sort, easy reading, something like that?" Lina asked as she opened the door for Dominic then got in herself.

He started to answer, but then heard a very loud noise come from Lina.

"Oops.." She blushed, "Im starved already, I'm a big breakfast person you know. We will grab some food and then go to the library. I think I know some people who work there too. You never really know who you might see around here." Her eyes rested on Dominic's scarf, but then she started up the car and headed out to a nearby restaurant.

_Yes indeed. Who will we see... _Dominic rested his head against the seat, _Hopefully not that traitor Jacob._


	5. The Search

The smell of a hot breakfast made Dominic's mouth drool as he entered the small restaurant with Lina. Breakfast time was pretty busy, and waitresses, dressed in red shirts and black pants, hurried around from table to table. There were four television screen set up around the room, one showing cartoons, the other sports, another a soap opera, and the last a talk show.

Fortunately for them, the wait wasn't too long dispite the crowd, and after five minutes of waiting they were seated. Lina still had the pop song in her head that she was blasting in the car, and Dominic silently wished that she would stop hunting it because quite frankly it was annoying him.

While they waited Dominic took the chance to get a good look at Lina. She had shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, brown eyes, and a nice smile. She wore braces, which were colored in red white and blue. Her earrings today were of little hearts, and smiley faces were painted on the hearts. Lina also wore a long brown T-shirt, most likely the one she slept in, and those cherry colored blue jeans she slipped on sometime before she ran out the door this morning. At the moment she had a restless expression on her face. Dominic thought on this a moment, but it was interrupted by Lina's tap on the shoulder.

"Are you falling asleep?"

"No. I was just thinking about that book. It's important that I find it, and the quicker I find it the better off I will be. Books of that nature have always been very important to my family."

"Is it a family heirloom?"

"Not exactly. It has a lot to do though with the culture I come from," _That is putting it lightly, _"and a lot of the work I've been putting in to study things like that."

"I know I must seem like a television and cooking show junkie to you, but I like to study things as well. I have a great interest in art philosophy and artists of the 18th century. As corny as it sounds, I believe art is a window to the soul, a way for mortal men to elevate themselves beyond their physical limitations and show a level of mastery and creativity that would shine through to the heavens themselves. They say the most beautiful art reflects nature. But I see nature as anyones habitat, whether it be bustling cityscapes filled with noise and yelling and clammering or a quiet sunny field where its so quiet you can hear yourself inhale and exhale. It is about self discovery, sciences, spirituality and soul. One day we might be able to move art into another form besides visual and audio, and when we achieve that one day, I will be proud to call myself an artist." Lina nodded at Dominic, and traced her hand along the border of the menu, as if trying to find some pattern in it that most do not see.

The seer was taken aback by Lina's statement. _The way she talks, she has the same passion that Luna and I do about our work. All of our notes and philosophies that we learned over the years, its a lifestyle that we want to enjoy and expound upon to make ourselves better. It's never been about strength, but about learning and discovering. If only I could tell her, we would all find a stage of enlightenment where no one would bother us. _He started to blush. _Ack, no you don't Dominic._

Lina tapped Dominic on the shoulder again, a little tired of bringing him back to reality when he spaced out. "Have you decided on your order?" She asked him politely.

"I can't read this language remember?"

"Right. Okay, how does this sound to you. A double pancake platter with blueberries and strawberries, bacon, french toast, a huge bran muffin for digestion, but don't worry its covered in honey, hot coffee, donuts, and juice."

"I'm not that big of an eater. Any way we can share that?"

"I don't mind, but if you want the whole meal to yourself-"

Dominic waved his hands in front of his head, "No no no, you've already spent enough on me. I want to thank you for taking me in, and...its kinda a good thing getting a break from home. More specifically my job. I had to deal with the most idiotic people. The questions they asked, you would not believe!"

"Oh Oh!" Lina stood up for a moment, "I know what you are talking about. I once worked at a help desk, and the most common question I got was..lets see. 'My computer isn't working, tell me whats wrong?' and I would ask 'Well what is it doing?' and they would say 'The screen is all black' so I would be like 'you forgot to turn it on didn't you' and they would apologize, turn it on, and hang up. One person even called me asking how to fix their radio. I'm like 'Hello! I work in computers. Why are you asking me about a radio' ...but I think the worst question by far is, 'Can you tell me how to reach the person at the help desk..'

Tears came to his eyes. He slowly put his head down on the table, and let out a laugh. "For a while I thought I was alone in the world."

"Stupid people like to disguise themselves as smart people to bug us." Lina put both of her hands on her friend's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. "Its all about keeping your sanity, my friend. Either that, or find a job where most of the people have that rare talent called common sense"

Storm clouds hovered over this innocent little tavern. Most of the citizens of this small town were happy enough, cuddling up with their families in front of hot fires and watching the rain from outside. It was peaceful, despite the weather, but in one of the rooms at the inn at the edge of town, the mood was as bleak as the clouds above.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Luna paced back and forth around the room while Gregory frowned at her. "I'm so tired of everyone saying they know nothing about Dominic! Does anyone in this stupid family know anything?!?"

Miranda Deegan gives Luna a look, and it quiets her.

"I- I'm so sorry. I know you are doing everything you can. But its been several days and no one has seen from or heard from him." Luna wiped the tears from her eyes and huddled in the corner. "Its harder for me to deal with it, I've gotten used to him sleeping beside me, holding me..."

"...aaaannndd?" Gregory giggled, making a funny face.

Luna's lip twisted up. "And what?"

"Its hard for me to believe that you and my brother never..never..." Gregory never finised his statement because his mother was now giving him the same look that she had given Luna earlier. He shrugged and twisted himself around so he could sit by his father.

"Wherever Dominic is he can take care of himself," Miranda rested her staff against the wall and addressed the group,"You all know by now he is capable of doing that. I raised him well, he knows all he needs to to survive." She looked over at her husband and nodded, and he could only return a weak smile.

"What is this Donovan? I've never known you not to have confidence in our son?" She rested her elbow against him, and he fell over playfully. Gregory snickered. Luna dried her eyes and sat down on the other side of Gregory.

"The only thing that worries me is," Gregory pressed his lips together in thought, and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair before looking back up at everyone, "I just feel better when I know I'm not too far away to heal him. But you are right, he does have his second sight. He will be okay."

Miranda frowned and looked away.

"He..does, doesn't he?" Gregory asked.

Miranda shut her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest. "Take my word for it, Gregory, he is fine. If he wasn't I would be worrying and.." she smiles at her son, "Does this look like a worried expression to you?"

"No arguing with her now." Donovan walked out of the room, waving to everyone, "Im hungry, so if you'll excuse me."

Gregory jumped up at the mention of food, worrying had made him hungry, but before he could even stand up Spark had already bolted out the door. Miranda followed after Gregory, but Luna remained in the room,

"Remember what I said." Miranda told her.

"I know," Luna replied, "I will, Mrs. Deegan"

As she wanted, Luna was left by herself in the room. She curled up, then stretched out on the bed and tried to get her mind on other things. "Dominic, ever since I met you we have had a connection. You showed me kindness when not even my own mother did. Dominic I'm not sure if I ever said the words, but, I..I love you. Dominic why did you run away and not take me? I have always stood by your side, and you disappear without a trace? Why! Tell me, Dominic, I want to know! I should be there with you, I am your assistant, I am your...I have...so much I need to tell you Dominic. Come back here right now." She bit her lip and cried softly. "If you could only give me a message, this would be so much easier to get through." She shut her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

If Dominic could read any of the books that were there, he would be in heaven. Miles of shelves going up to very tall ceilings displayed books of every shape, size and topic. The building was very modern in design, shiny sharp angular design, chrome everywhere, with a set of escalators to the north and the stairway to the south. There were paintings on the floor of the building, replicas of famous paintings from the masters of various ages, as well as the markings showing the various sections of the massive library. The scent of the air was of freshly printed pages and printer ink being printed at a mile a minute, but the people there were obviously enjoying every minute of it.

"I've visted large libraries before, "Dominic told Lina as he held onto her arm, "but I don't even know what to make of this."

"Libraries can be kinda cool. Especially this one because the designer really went to town on this one. We should go up to the electronic section first, run a search for your book, and see what comes up. I know this library does have books in spanish and french, so its worth a shot." She took him across the room to the escalator on the far right and stepped on.

_This isn't magic. This is all technology, I can tell. If there were ever a point in existence where my world and this one were one, the point of the split must've been some time ago. The evolution here is totally different, though everyone here has forgotten their extra senses they have put their energies into creating technologies that I still can't...believe...Im witnessing. _Dominic squoze Lina's arm tighter as his eyes tried to take in everything that was being flashed before them.

"My..arm...man.." Lina loosed her arm and shook her head at him. "Don't freak, small town. We are almost to the top." Lina rested her hand against the railing as the escalator twisted around the various statues and exhibits, and let them off at the third floor. This sight was even more fantastic as before, giant viewing screens lining the walls and four hanging from the ceiling, various computer ports and more of the paintings from the first floor decorating the floors on the third. She walked up to a port and typed in the name that Dominic had given her, and began to scroll through the list of options.

Lina waved Dominic over and showed him the screen "Do you think there would be an english copy of this book?"

"English..probably not."

"We need to split up so we can cover more ground and find that book. Since you probably don't know how to use these computers, you can go over to that room on the right side and look for the books manually. I'll dig up all I can here, and then meet you at the center table. Sound good?"

"Sure." _Please, please be here. Knowing my luck this will all be a waste of time but..._He looked back at Lina hovering over the computer, shook his head, and walked into the side room.

This room wasn't nearly as elegantly designed as the others. It looked like something he wouldve been used to at home, so he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. _Well this should be easy. All I have to do is look for something I can read. _With an old tune his mother once sang in his head, he scanned the shelves, occasionally getting up on a ladder to reach a book. _Im going to take the time to learn this language. I just wish I had the time but..._he grabbed one book and climbed back down the ladder, _In my spare time I'm sure I can learn something. I should ask Lina about an art book.._

Dominic continued his search but after a while realized it was hopeless. As he walked through the last aisle in the room he saw something through the space in the shelves, on the other side, that sent a chill up his spine.

"Here is the book you are looking for, sir." An older woman smiled and handed a green leather back book to a fairly tall man with long black hair. Dominic clenched his fist as he saw this, his other arm tightening around the book he picked up. All he could do was keep himself from snarling, but as the man left, a low growl escaped from Dominic's throat as he whispered..."Jacob..."

"Did you find anything? I didn't come up with anything on that topic that wasn't in english." Lina called out and circled her way around to find Dominic. He looked back at her and loosened his grip, before lightly leaning against the bookshelves.

"Something up?" Lina asked.

"Doesn't take much for you to tell, does it? I just saw someone I wish I hadn't. He is a really bad person, and if I see him I want you to stay far away from him. Do you understand?"

"Who is this person?"

"I'd rather not say. Not now, telling you that might put you in danger. Right now, the less you know the better.." He steps out past the shelves and looked around, and expectedly Jacob is nowhere to be seen. "He always wears black, has long black hair with streaks. Keep an eye out okay?"

"Criminal you used to know, busted out from prison, or maybe they let him out but you know he is still crazy?" Lina smirked at her own hypothesis.

_I wish she would stop treating all of this like a joke, but I can't exactly blame her for it either considering the fragmented information I have given her. _ _Since Jacob is here, however, this might escalate into something big, and I'm not sure if her ignorance will hurt her or help her. I don't have direct access to my second sight, I still have no clue where I am and I miss Luna._

He looked up as he felt Lina's arm wrap around him. She breathed softly on his neck and whispered in his ear. "If you are worried about anyone hurting you, you need to tell me. I've had friends who have been beaten by abusive boyfriends and fathers before, and another friend who crossed a man who he now fears to this day. If something is wrong, promise me you will be honest with me and let me know. Promise me this." She let him go and rubbed his arm, then took his hand and led him out of the room.

"There are a couple more floors we can check for this book. And on the offchance it really isn't here, I have a few more locations in mind that we can check." She took a seat back at the main table she had pointed out earlier, and stretched. "You know, when I was little, I was passed around alot from family to family. My parents were basically a no-show since the day I was born, so beside distant relatives I've been raised by good friends. I'm better for it, too. Some people ask me if I hate my parents because of them leaving me, but my answer is definately no. They are my parents, and I love them, and nothing is ever going to stop that. If I ever get the chance to meet them one day, I'm gonna do so and welcome them with open arms. I have a feeling they are feeling bad enough about what happened to me, so the last they ing they need is some whiny 'im blaming all my problems' on you kid with one sob story after another.

I've never been an attractive person. Im not the type of person anyone would date, or like in that way. That sort of thinking kept me an introvert for quite a while, but after some time I just stopped caring. Who cares about all that stuff anyway? You should do what you can to help people in life, and smile when everyone else is frowning.You just don't know what good you do when you try that out."

"I've got a supportive family waiting for me back home," Dominic said as he sat down at the table, "and from what I can gather, a good friend sitting right across from me. " He handed her the book he picked up, "You think you could help me learn to read this?"

"Sure, " she grabbed the book and opened it up, " 'Events in modern history, how single moments have changed lives.' Interesting topic, we could give it a try though." She got up and sat beside him, "Just listen and watch, and you'll be reading this in no time."


	6. The Vacation

Defeated by one of the largest libraries in existence, the two friends made their way to the parking lot yet again.

"You would really think that the library, which hosts books, videos, tapes, and online sources from almost every country in the world, would have one little book! This is ridiculous, we looked everywhere and still nothing! I mean, was it checked out all this time?! If it was Im going to scream. In fact, I'm thinking about going ahead and screaming now. It's probably one of those books that is sitting on a flea market shelf somewhere, collecting dust. That is where all the really cool books hide, I think libraries need to wake up and smell the print and realize that. But then again, I may be just letting off steam."

Dominic started to get in the passengers seat, but before he could open the door Lina stopped him and handed him the keys.

"I'm tired, can you drive?"

Silence.

"Don't TELL me you don't know how to drive?" Lina exclaimed and basically shoved him in the drivers side of the car. "Looks like we are taking the long way then. You, my friend, are learning how to drive."

_Yay. _Dominic looked nervously at all the gears, buttons, and dials.

"I've only been driving a year, so I have not totally forgotten the newbie experience." Lina got in on the passengers side and reached over to the back of the car and began to search for something among all the junk piled up on the back seat.

"Where is it? I know its around here somewhere…" She grabbed a book from off of the floor and brought it back up for him to see. "Here it is."

He took the book from her and read the title: "Baby, you can drive my car: A Beginners Guide to Driving and the Rules of the Road."

"That's the book I learned from." Lina took the book back and opened it up to page three. "Okay, boring..boring..here we go, how to start the car. Take the key, what you are holding, obviously, and stick it in the ignition," she pointed to it, " that thingamabobber right there."

He shrugged and with slight difficulty (he was holding the key wrong) got it in to the ignition.

"Good. Easy so far. Now, check all your mirrors. The mirror straight ahead of you, and the one to the side outside of the car. You may also want to look behind you at the back window. This is to make sure no stupid cars are whizzing by when you begin."

_Why I am doing this I've yet to know. I've got more important things to do, but arguing with her would just slow me down even more. _"There are no other cars coming."

"Good. Put your seatbelt on."

He fastened his seatbelt and put his hands on the wheel just like he had saw Lina do earlier.

"Look down and you will see the gears. Right now the little level is on P, for parking. This means the car doesn't move. Hold in the little button on the lever like this," she put her hands there to show him how to grip it, and then released it, "and pull the lever to the letter D for drive." She watched as Dominic did that, and the car began to ease ahead slowly. "Now. With your right foot, press the pedal on the right to go."

"Allright.." He pressed it, but a little too hard. The car jolted forward at an amazing speed, and was heading straight for the wall of the nearby discount superstore.

"HIT THE BRAKE! HIT THE DAMN BRAKE!"

"WHAT'S THAT?!?"

"THE OTHER ONE! THE OTHER ONE!"

"BE MORE SPECIFIC!"

"THE OTHER PEDAL!" She grabbed the steering wheel and turned the car sharply to avoid collision. Dominic slammed his foot down on the brake pedal and they came skidding to a stop. Eventually.

Lina held her chest and gasped for air. Dominic stared at the wheel in a daze. As soon as Lina caught her breath, she spoke.

"My..fault…please..press it…very gently…You can't go that fast in a parking lot…or even on the highway…" She rested her head against the dashboard and let her arms hang.

"If that was so important you should've pointed it out! I don't have time for a stupid driving lesson, Something bad is going to happen if I don't get that book and you keep distracting me from what I need to do!"

Lina sat up slowly and looked at Dominic. She got out of the car, and the opened his door. Gently,she unbuckled his seat and helped him out of the car. She got in the driver's seat and he in the passengers. With a quick check of the mirrors, she drove home in silence.

Upon arrival, she opened the door for him and he sat down on the couch.

"I'm going to call around about that book before we set out again, okay?" Lina said in a voice barely above a whisper. She walked out of the sitting room, leaving Dominic to his thoughts.

_And by exploding I slowed things down yet again. _He stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets. _I'm usually good about these things, but I just cannot control my temper when it comes to Jacob. He betrayed our family, and continues to betray us by getting under our skin. I don't care what Gregory says about him, I'll never forgive Jacob for putting him in that kind of danger._

It wasn't long before Dominic found himself walking around Lina's home. He stopped and looked at pictures of her that were sitting on shelves. Most of the pictures were of her when she was little, to the best of his understanding, while she was playing with her friends.

These made him smile, but there was one picture towards the back of the collection that really caught his eye.

"Luna. That's Luna.." He grabbed the picture of what looked like a five year old Luna. He ran his finger across the glass thoughtfully. "No, this is Lina, but how? There is something connecting the two of them, I can feel it, but for right now I can't guess anymore than that they looked alike when they were younger."

Thirsty, he stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a soda for himself. He saw the chili recipe pinned to the refrigerator.

_I wonder…yeah, that will work. All I have to remember is where Lina keeps everything. _He proceeded to find all of the ingredients for the famous chili recipe Lina taught him, and to the best of his ability, attempted to make it by himself. He even included the special touches he had added to his competiton chili, the ones not even she knew about. Once completed, he brought it to her room and knocked on the door.

Silence.

"Please open the door, I have something for you…" He spoke in a soft voice.

Lina pulled herself up off the bed and wiped her eyes. She opened the door, and Dominic came in with a bowl of chili and bread on a platter.

"Sorry about earlier.." Both of them said at the same time.

"I shouldn't have kept forcing things on you. I just wanted to make you feel like you really belonged. I myself am sick of being the stupid outsider, and I just imagined better for you."

"I know your intentions were good," Dominic sat on the bed and broke off a piece of the bread for himself, "I've been under a lot of stress lately, and shouldn't have yelled. If I would've behaved that way around my mother, she would've sent me to bed without supper."

"My friend had a mom like that. No matter old she got, Mom would always be the boss. You can eat that bowl of chili, I'll go fix myself some."

"Can you grab some more of those bread rolls while you are at it?" Dominic asked.

Lina laughed and headed out the door. On her way to the kitchen, she noticed a pile of mail stacked up on the table. Shuffling through it, she found something special and called out to her friend.

"Dominic! Hey, you won't believe what we have free passes to!"

All dressed up with somewhere to go for once, Lina dragged her friend into the bustling night club that had just opened downtown. The music was loud, really loud, lights were flashing about, most of the people in the city it seemed were on the dancefloor, and a weird mix of alcohol and floor cleaner drifted in the air. Dominic held his nose as he was pulled in and flopped on a seat at the bar.

"Isn't this great?" Lina hopped up beside him on the barstool, dangling her legs. She had really gone out of her way to dress for the even, with a short black dress, short boots, her hair in two braids and light lipstick. In comparison to the other people around her, she was dressed simply, but it could not help but catch the eyes of a few gentlemen. A few ladies noticed Dominic as well.

One gent, a tall man obssessed with leather, basically stood in front of the seer to approach Lina. He tried a little too hard to pose in a charming manner, but when that failed, he spoke.

"Glad to see you came out tonight. I'm the owner, and I only speak to the most beautiful that grace my bar." He ran his fingers through Lina's hair and tucked a lock behind her ear.

By this time it did not take a Jacob sighing to tick Dominic off. In his eyes, these were the type of guys that graced his old home of Lynn's Brook, macho, classless, airheads. Also, he was getting tired of sniffing whatever cologne the guy had bathed in before he left. Just as he was about to stand up, Lina did as well, and spoke to the guy.

"First off, according to the article in the newspaper, this club was opened by a woman, not a man. Second, you are not attractive. Third, that line wasn't very original. Fourth, that cologne is making neighborhood dogs pass out, and fifth, I'm going to be sitting over there now." She swung around him, grabbed Dominic's hand, and led him to the other side of the bar.

"You want to get out on the dance floor?"

Dominic shot a glance to the wild party people and shook his head, "It's not really my thing, at least not that type of dancing."

"Sure you don't want to try?"

"Pretty sure.." _Pretty sure I can't even hear myself think._

"Okay!" Lina's voice was a lot louder since she had to be heard above all the music. "Lets sit down over on that couch over there!" She worked her way through the crowds and sat down on a pink leather couch, plopping her feet up on the small table next to it.

"Is this what you usually do in your spare time," he asked as he sat back down in their new location,"go to parties and .."

"Wait, I think I know where this is going. Come on." She helped him up and took him outside of the bar, and sat down on the sidewalk looking up at the night sky. "No, I'm not a big party person. I'll admit, I've been doing a lot lately to impress you, but it keeps backfiring on me. Its not often than I have someone to hang out with me this much, and I just wanted to seal the deal on our friendship, by showing you things you may not have experienced before."

"You have helped me, and I thank you. When I go back home, I'm going to bring a lot from the time I had here with you. It's just...people that I care for may be in harms way, and I have no way of contacting them just yet. With that guy I told you about wandering freely, I can't help but be on edge..." he paused as Lina wrapped her arm around him and rested his head on his shoulder.

"There is a lot you are not telling me, I don't have to be a psychic to know that." She said as she rubbed his back gently.

_Speaking of psychics... _"Thanks."

Lina sat there with him in silence for a while, and then broke it with a sweeter, more gentle voice than she normally used. "Promise me when you leave, we will still be friends."

_I hadn't thought about that before. Once I go back home I may never see her again. Maybe I should make the time I have with her count. _He wrapped his arms around her, his breath playing lightly against her neck.

"Promise."

Lina stood up and headed to her car, "Its not like Im out any money, they were free tickets anyway. Lets just get home and pig out on junk food."

"You know, I didn't get a chance to watch television where I'm from, though Im guessing you already figured that out." Dominic stated as he smiled at her. He was curled up on the couch with a huge blanket over him, dipping into a mega-tub of movie-style popcorn, "and we didn't have this popcorn stuff either. I wish I could take all the food here and bring it home, but..."

Lina looked over at him, "But what?"

"Nothing beat's potato and mushroom stew."

"It sounds too healthy for me, but cook some up and I'll give it a try. If its good I'll snag the recipe, since you never really know when the next major culinary competiton. If its a tag team, you better be at my side. "

"I'd like to show you where I live. You might be in for a culture shock yourself. We don't have all this stuff at our fingertips, yet life still remains pretty interesting. Sometimes its a little too exciting, even for me.."

"Is that because a lot of major things go down, or you are just an old cranky man in a young man's body?"

"Both."

They smirked at each other.

"Hey, give me some of that blanket, will you?" She yanked it off of him and snuggled with it.

He tugged it back.

And so did she.

Tug..Tug..Tug...back and forth it went until the popcorn got spilled all over the floor. "Well this is just great.."Lina tried to act incredibly serious as she bent down to pick up the pieces. Dominic got a trash bag from the kitchen, and came back to help her.

"I was long overdue for a decent vacation" he said as he got the last of the spilled popcorn. "If nothing else, thats what staying here has been like. However, trying to watch a movie without your glasses bites, when are we going to pick up my new ones?"

"Soon enough, small town, soon enough."


	7. The Accident

Jacob Deegan rested his eyes as he rode along in a city taxi. His one arm, the one showing his necromancer nature, was hidden under a long black sleeve. He looked out the window to observe the city, mothers, daughters, fathers and sons, all going about their lives so hurriedly that they barely knew what was going on around them. He thought that even if stars fell from the sky and hit them, it would not distract them long from their work and leisure hours.

It was perfect.

They were too preoccupied for their own good.

He glanced down at his watch and noted the time. Three-fourty-five. In fifteen minutes he would meet up with a friend of his, Dyana Goldbrook, and discuss dinner plans. The taxi pulled over to the side of the road and let him out. He paid the driver and headed towards a large, brick apartment building about a block away.

Once inside, he went up the stairs to the third floor of the building. He didn't even have to knock, because a woman with long, white, flowing hair and a white dress to match opened her apartment door, and ushered Jacob inside.

Jacob looked at her. She was beautiful indeed, and only wore light colors save for the little black rose she had pinned to her dress. His fingers ran over that softly, and then he had a seat.

"I have the best restaurant in town picked out. To tell you the truth, I never thought I would see you again Jacob. Not after what happened." She traced her fingers down along his neck and then went to her bar to prepare drinks.

"I am not normally the social type, so I'm surprised I'm here myself."

"Shame. You should come more often."

"Give me a drink."

"Fine, Fine.." she handed him his glass and sat down on the arm of the sofa, looking over him. "How is Miranda?"

"Do you think I care? I purposely cut off all ties to them." Jacob sneered.

" No need to get touchy." she lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip of her drink, " You never were a mother's boy anyway."

Jacob stood up and looked out the window, taking in the same sights as before. "This place is perfect. I cannot wait to get out there."

"And about Dominic?"

"He doesn't exist to me."

The setting was picture perfect. Blue skies, dotted with fluffy white clouds, a warm breeze and the scent of the ocean filling the lungs of those nearby. He sat there, fishing rod in hand, dangling his feet off the edge of the piet as he took the chance to truly enjoy one of his favorite pastimes of all. To top that, he did not have to worry about a greedy cat inhaling all he had caught within a few hours of him catching it.

It was perfect.

By then, his wardrobe had changed too. He missed his old sweater but agreed with Lina that the fluctuating weather in the area did not always call for it. He wore a dark green t-shirt and brown jeans. He kept his gloves, which matched quite well with the earthy color scheme he was wearing. He wore brown suede boots with a little logo etched on the side and heavy duty light brown shoelaces; they seemed fit for travel and were a lot easier on his feet that what he had before

It had been a little over a week since Lina had, "bumped into him". Since then he has slept on a couch, often had a cat for a pillow, and tested out different chili recipes for future competitons. He also learned how to shop with coupons, to work a VCR, use a cell phone, and use the internet. The internet thing still blew his mind, but as he told Lina before, he had other things to worry about.

He sighed. Now was not the time to worry about anything. He was in a picturesque setting and as far as he was concerned, nothing was going to go disturbing the peace and quiet of the moment. Except, of course, for a ringing cell phone.

Digging in his lunch box, he picked up his phone and answered it. "Yes, Lina?"

"Your glasses are ready. Do you want me to pick you up so we can go get them?"

Dominic looked out to the water, and mumbled something under his breath. "Yeah, I'm ready, but afterwards I'm coming back here. I barely caught a thing, and I thought for a moment I was going to be lucky."

"There is always time for that stuff. Listen, Im in my car and Im on my way to the pier. Be ready okay?" With that she hung up.

"Always on the move, can't never stay in one place too long. But, I should think of it this way," He stretched his arms and grabbed his lunch box, "I've yet to run into one stupid person asking me an even more stupid question. Its wonderful when people don't know who you are."

Going to the eyeglass store was uneventful. Though Dominic was pleased with his glasses, his late night searches for the book in his dream left him pretty tired. Without the sea air to wake him up, he fell asleep as Lina headed back home.

Lina herself was having a hard time staying awake as they travelled the highway. She yawned continuously, but became more alert when she noticed a driver weaving in and out of different lanes. "What in the heck is he doing?" she asked herself, keeping a steady eye on him as he continued to drive erraticatly.

Then the expected happened.

The driver swerved in front of a tractor trailer which turned to avoid him. The weight from the trailer made him skid sideways as he turned, and then CRASH! The trailer landed right on a blue car, completely crushing it.

Several screeches sounded as cars came to a halt, trying to avoid the accident. One car, that was speeding anyway, could not avoid it in time and ran right into the accident. Lina had just enough time to stop and look at Dominic, who's eyes were already glued open and his hands clenched around his seat. Lina grabbed her chest and tried to calm herself down. "Drunk driver..I know it was a drunk driver!"

"They ran into each other.." Dominic unbuckled himself and got out of the car. "We have to go help."

"We can't! Get back in here!"

"Those people can't survive long in there.." _Gregory where are you when we need you? _"I have to go."

Lina grabbed her cell phone and called the police. Dominic ignored this for the most part, and slowly approached the wreck. Lina saw this and jumpedo ut of the car herself to stop him. She put her hand on his shoulder and began to lead him back.

"You don't know what is going to happen. We don't know what that trailer was carrying..something could explode! You just don't know."

"Cars can explode?"

"Its possible." She closed her phone and looked south. "We may be stuck here for a while. The traffic is so backed up we might have to sit here until it clears. Only the paramedics will probably be allowed through."

Lina's expression soured and she looked again towards the accident, which the police hadn't yet got to. "Wait a second! Look! I think those people are okay!"

Dominic turned towards the cars again and sure enough, a young woman, a girl and a boy, climbed out of the crushed window and got out of the car unharmed. They were smiling and laughing, the boy was even skipping as he urged his mother and sister ahead. Right then the police got to the scene, but walked right past them to get to the cars. They helped the driver of the tractor trailer into the audience, but what Dominic and Lina saw next sent cold sharp chills up their spines.

They removed the bodies of the woman, the boy, and the girl.

"Not again!" Lina gulped and shut her eyes tightly. She got back into the car and pressed her head onto the steering wheel as she shivered in fear. "Not again, not again, not again, I'm not seeing this, I'm not."

Dominic got back in his seat and looked down in thought. _Ghosts. But why would we... _Just as Dominic looked up he saw Jacob standing there right near the paramedics. He grabbed the hand of the man who drove the trailer, and lead his spirit out of his body.

_No, no he doesn't. What in the heck is he doing directing souls? And where in the hell is he taking them?!? _ _I still don't have access to any of my other abilities, at this point Im powerless to stop him!_ He punched his fist a few times to keep himself from boiling over, but his concentration broke when he noticed Lina panicking over her steering wheel.

_She saw it too? But that's impossible. I think.._

"You saw what I saw, so we are in this together.." Dominic rubbed Lina's shoulders.

"Its not..the first time I've seen things like that. " She bit her lip in frustration. "I know I can trust you, but promise me you won't tell anybody."

"I won't."

"Okay. When I was little, a dear family friend passed away and I had to go to a funeral. It was the first one I had ever attended, so I was pretty scared. After we were just leaving the yard, I heard his voice speak to me. He told me not to cry, and that he would be watching over me. Then I turned around and I saw his face, just barely, as the leaves stirred up the yard. It was unreal. Of course, no one believed me and chalked it up to an overactive imagination, but that wasn't the end of it.

I was ten years old. One of the kids on my block was murdered due to a drive by, mistaken shot. I was one of the witnesses, and they told me to try to remember who was in the car at the time. I couldn't do it for the life of me. I was too scared and too shaken, any facts that may have been in my head were out of pure fear. She came to me one night when I was in bed, Dominic. I could see her clear as day this time, and I could see the blood stains on her clothes. I tried to touch her but I couldn't. She told me the name of the guy who killed her, and I repeated it to the police. The guy admitted to it and was put in jail.

You want another example. I've seen people walk out of graveyards, and I'm not talking about greiving families. Each time I just try to forget it, even went to a psycologist but they say nothing is wrong with me! I don't know what to do anymore...and its really scaring me."

Hearing her words, he almost convinced himself to tell her who he was. She had shared a lot with him, and here he was still keeping secrets. _Its'not the right time, not yet. I'll only tell her when there is no other option. _"My life hasn't exactly been normal either. I'll just say this, nothing you could tell me would surprise me. When we get home, do you want me to cook.."

"No. More. Chili."

" I was going to say potato and mushroom stew. Eating that always calms my nerves. Guess it reminds me of home and all."

"Yeah, " she looks ahead to those directing traffic and starts up her car. "Lets get out of here. You know, I'm not a big mushroom fan, but I'll give anything a try once. Just once. If I don't like it don't expect me to eat it again."

The weather conditions were fierce. Lina was able to just home and with her friends help, shut the door against the wind that was determined to blow it open. Lightening flashed constantly and the rumble of the thunder shook the house.

"Must be a late tropical storm," she flicked on the television to see the news report.

**Tropical Storm, now Hurricane Delia, will be approaching the Valley area with wind gusts over 120 miles per hour…**

"I can't believe I forgot about that! When you came I totally forgot my hurricane preparations. She checked the door to make sure it was locked, then got out a first aid kit and a few candles. "I better get these out before the power…"

The lights dimmed and sputtered out.

"…goes off. Someone really should check the lines around here, believe me, it doesn't take a hurricane to knock off the power around here." She felt around for the matches a while, then finally grabbed one and lit the candle.

"Sorry about this.."

He shrugged and used the one candle to light all the others.

"I really hate this with a passion, No lights, no electricity, no heat, no nothing. Just us sitting in the dark. You would think with all the technology today they would've found a way to end this problem."

Dominic flicked open his cell phone and showed her the light.

"Funny.." Lina sat down, "I don't have time for a ghost freak out and a loss of electricity at the same time. I hate being a freak. There is always something wrong with me… and I'm not even going into the 'I occasionally see dead people' thing."

Dominic lead her to the couch and handed her a blanket. "I'm guessing the TV isn't currently working, so if you want someone to listen to, go ahead."

"You are not sick of me babbling already?"

"I like to hear you talk. Honest conversation never bothered me, just the idiots at my job."

"To tell the absolute truth, I want to try to forget what I saw today. We can get a board game though, and a battery powered radio so we can hear some weather updates and maybe even some music." She grabbed a candle and walked down the hallway towards a small closet. When she reached to get a few board games out, she noticed a strange rash on her hand. She shoved her hand in her pocket and pulled her sleeve over it. "Not tonight, I'm just going to forget it.." she went back into the sitting room and set one of the board games out of the table. She sprang up again to fetch the radio, and turned it to a jazz station which was also giving up to date information on the storm that raged outside.

"Luna..Luna!" Gregory supported his ailing friend before she fell. "Luna what's wrong?"

"I can't walk. I'm too weak…I," Luna started to fall, and Gregory helped her rest against a tree.

"Are you sick?" Gregory pressed his palm against Luna's forehead to check her temperature. " We aren't too far away from where Pam is currently staying. If you have a fever, I'm sure she can take care of it."

Luna let her head rest against the tree. It hurt for her to breathe, her throat was in a lot of pain and her limbs were achy and weak. There was also a slight pale color to her complexion, one that worried Gregory greatly.

"For some reason my power is not working on you right now. Believe me I tried. All I can gather is maybe it is something only Pam can heal. I'm not sure exactly, there is nothing specific I can pinpoint. If Dominic was here-"

Luna shot him a glance.

"I'm sorry, I won't mention him. I didn't mean to upset you. "

"I am not interested in going to a healing house. We have to find him. Its been too long."

"But mom said…"

"I'm sorry but I just can't wait any longer. If I were gone this long Dominic wouldn't stop until he found me."

"Bet you guys will have some great reunion sex."

"What was that, Gregory?"

"Nothing. But look at yourself. You are falling apart. Maybe its stress from not finding my brother. I used to hear all the time that sometimes the worse ailments in existence come from the mind. If that is the case, you just have to have faith in him."

"But what if something happened to him?? He may be hurt somewhere and us sitting around wasting time isn't doing him much good!" Luna struggled to her feet, only to be caught once again by Gregory.

"I'm getting you help. Spark and I will search for Dominic."

She sighed and sat up straighter and looked around for the cat. "Where is Spark, anyway?"

"Well.." He grabbed his travel pack and opened up the flap. "No! No, no no!!"

"What is it?! What is wrong?"

"My tuna fish sandwich. Its all gone."

Spark smiled at Gregory. "Thank you."

Luna shook her head. "Well you were the one who put it in there."

"Is there any more?" The cat rested his paws on the outside of the bag, and Gregory looked away from him upset.

"From my reaction you should've been able to tell that it was the LAST ONE."

Spark's expression soured. "You mean there is no more food."

"That's right. No. More. Food. We are going to stop in town and get some, as well as get Luna help. Then we will resume our search."

"Fine…" Spark's belly sounded and Gregory rolled his eyes.

"Gregory I said-" she was cut short by Gregory's hand over her mouth. He took a deep breath, then spoke, "Dominic would have my tail, and probably burn my couch fort, if anything happened to you. He scares me more than Jacob when he's really pissed off."

"If she can't walk, how are we going to travel to get my food?" Spark asked drooling.

"I guess I have to carry her."

"CAN you carry her?"

"What do you think I am, weak? Think only Dominic is capable of doing things? Well let me tell you I…"

Spark's belly made another disgusting gurgling noise, which is really disturbing coming from a cat. Even Luna cringed that time.

"I'm ready to go. Maybe someone's wagon will come by and we will be able to load her on." Gregory rubbed his shoulders, flexed his arms and inhaled deeply.

"Just pick me up already." Luna glared.

"Yeah." Struggling at first, he eventually lifted her into his arms and started to walk.

Spark cleared his throat.

"Oh." Gregory walked back, picked up the travel pack, and headed out.

"It's getting late. We should find somewhere to stay before the sun sets". Luna said as she leaned back against Dominic's brother.

"I know, I know. I think Pam is going to have to tend to me too once we find her."

Luna and Spark blinked at that statement, and at the same time asked, "Why is that?"

Gregory remained silent. If he were to voice that he did not want to carry his brother's heavy girlfriend and his cat, who put on a few pounds from eating their lunch, he would be at the mercy of an angry,sick, sorceress and a feline that could remove both of his eyes.


	8. The Confession

"You monster!" An older, dark haired woman shouted as she beat her fists upon a tall muscular man with green eyes. The man did not move, but shook his head at the woman and pushed her back with his palm on her forehead.

"It is called social darwinism, survival of the fittest. Your daughter died so my son could live. It's simple as that. Besides, that girl was marked to die long before Hurricane whats-its-face came to town. You know that Samentha."

Samentha scowled at him. "I can't believe I ever loved you. You are a monster. All you want to do is take the organs from my precious baby girl and sell them!"

"Belinda agreed that if she were to die she would donate her organs to Matthew. I don't know why you are throwing a fit over something that was decided long before you decided to butt in."

"You cared nothing for her, David" Samentha shouted, staning on her tiptoes so she could look the man in the eye. "You called her crazy girl, babbler, that is all you ever said to her and you were supposed to be happy. She over heard you many times saying those things, and you made her depressed. She died of a broken heart because her uncle broke it! I am away trying to get money for her and you basically kick her into the grave for your own selfish purposes."

"The girl WAS insane, woman!" He gruffly grabbed her wrist and twisted it. "None of the things she spouted ever made sense, not from the very beginning. The doctors, they all didn't have a clue. I think she was possessed..."

Samentha kicked David in the shin. "I should kill you, I should kill you right now."

David trembled in anger. "You have no idea who you are talking to, woman. Say one more word and you'll be joining her."

Samentha stepped back. "David..I...I.."

He pulled out a gun.

"DAVID!"

The morning had came, and the hurricane was gone. The damage was extensive, and there had been some loss of life. Five families had fallen victim to tornadoes that sprung from the hurricane, and two people at a local clinic died later due to injury. Trees had fallen all over the roads, and crews were everywhere, whisking those who had lost their homes away to shelters.

By the time the storm had reached Lina, it was too late to evacuate. Luckily, despite some fallen trees her home had been spared, and she was shocked to hear about the mass devestation that was only a block or two away from her.

_I see visions of books and Jacob taunting me...yet I couldn't use my sight to help any of these people. What good is it having my abilities if no one benefits from it? People's homes have been completely destroyed and lives have been lost, and with Jacob around, even their souls are in danger. Knowing my luck I am just waiting for things to get even more crapped up.. _Dominic cringed at the images flashed before him on the news, and went outside to take a look at the damage himself.

"Don't go out there, not yet.." Lina hopped up from the den and ran out to Dominic. "You don't want to step on any fallen power lines."

Blank stare.

"Step on power lines...that supply electricity...get electrocuted. "

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the steps outside the door. "There is just too much going on, and this doesn't help things."

She sat beside him and stretched her arms. "You are still worried about that guy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and all these people. The damage here is unbearable."

Lina rested her arms against her knees and stared down at the sidewalk below. "I know. The storm is still moving too. So other areas are going to have to go through the same things we did."

"Whenever my family had to face a storm, we were well prepared. I'm not saying I haven't weathered a storm before, but it doesn't get any easier to deal with the aftermath of the storm."

Lina stood up and took a few steps forward. She took a deep breath. "We could be out on the street right now, you know that? Its amazing that we were spared. Guess we have some greater purpose in life that we don't know about yet. "

Dominic made an odd face when Lina said that, but remained quiet.

"...I heard the Library took some hits too. Well, at least that book we were looking for wasn't there. Though the Library was the pride of the area and I bet some serious tax dollars are going to be sucked up this year. Listen, I'm going to go out and help the relief effort."

Nodding in approval, he quickly got to his feet and walked up to where she was. "It is about time. I'm sick of being out here doing nothing." _It looks like for right now these people come first. But the moment Jacob starts something, well..._

At the local storm shelter, dozens of people were handing out much needed supplies to those that needed them. Lina chose to work at the booth that gave out fresh water, and Dominic assisted her, bringing over new jugs from the freezer when necessary. It was a hot day, so eventually Dominic ditched the scarf and set it down on the table.

One second later, a woman in line picked it up.

"This is the water line, ma'am." Lina told the woman as she reached for the scarf.

"I am really cold, and my home can't be lived in due to flooding. I really need this scarf"

"For those who need clothing, go over to the right side of the-"

The woman paced about nervously in front of the booth."I really REALLY need this scarf" she repeated.

"This belongs to him. There are much warmer scarfs over there"

"But I need THIS scarf?"

Lina rolled her eyes, "Why do you need this scarf?"

"BeCAUSE!" The woman was getting frustrated now, "because it is my husband's scarf."

"No its not"

"Yes it is."

"No its not!" Lina stood up and grabbed one end of the scarf, but the other woman would not let go.

"Yes it is, I insist it is, are you calling me a liar little girl?"

Lina scowled. "No. Its. Not."

"Well, it at least looks like my husband's scarf. I know a man who can tell my future if I give him this scarf. He always liked my husband's scarf, and I can't find my husbands scarf."

Lina and Dominic just stared at her.

"I need this scarf!"

"Listen." Dominic stepped up to bat, giving a break for the overly frustrated Lina, "this guy who said he'd tell the future for you, what were you going to ask him?"

"Oh that. I was going to ask him if my husband was allergic to cats."

_Of all the things lacking in existence, stupid is abundant. Where is my pipe when I need it? _"You wanted to ask a seer about something as trivial as an allergy?"

"Its very simple really. When he went over to my sisters house with all the cats, he started sneezing. Then when I babysat one of her cats, he started sneezing. So I want to know if he is allergic"

Lina put her head down against the desk. "Why don't you, " she paused to make sure she said it right, "take him to the doctor and have him tested for cat allergies."

The woman was absolutely shocked. "Doctors can do that?"

Lina nodded, with her face still facing the table.

"Oh." She dropped the scarf on the floor and hurried off. Two second later she hurried back. "One more thing for me please?"

"Yes?" Lina muttered quietly.

"May I have some water."

Dominic silently handed over a jug and she left again, stepping on his scarf in the process.

Dyana, with white fur coat and tall boots, examined the damage of the storm while driving in her car. "People without homes, missing family members, flooding, a true natural disaster." At a stop light she noticed a family in an SUV making a right turn in the lane beside her. She lifted her hand slightly from the wheel, and a blinding light blocked the SUV driver's vision and caused him to crash into another car. There was a mutiple car pile up on the city streets before Dyana even got the light.

"Anything to help the cause, my love." She smiled and turned on the radio, "This is within his area. Now that the net has been cast, every soul in this area is yours."

"Having fun?" Jacob asked, relaxing in the back seat as he took in all the scenery.

"Yes, of course. But I am not one for this patience bit. Setting things into place is not my style, don't you have a better plan sweetheart?" She did her best to flip her hair in a provocative fashion, but Jacob ignored it.

"Do as your told and you will be rewarded. Umbramancy is not always a speedy process.You can use your healing powers on the masses, and gain this petty fame and fortune that you desire."

"Don't knock it til you try it, babe. Do you like this song?" After not hearing a reply, she repeated again, "Do you like this song? Hun?" She shook her head and concentrated on driving. "That man is impossible I swear.."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

An evil, cackling laugh was emitted from the front of the car, and Jacob tilted his head and glared. "Will you turn that stupid radio off, I hate this commercial."

"Sorry, Sorry."

A crowd gathered around Luna's bed. Pam went over to her and checked her for any injury or sickness one last time and came up with nothing. Gregory grabbed Pam's hand and squoze it lightly, and with a trembling voice asked her, "She isn't going to die, is she?"

Pam took a moment to think of the right words to say, but when nothing substancial came to mind, she looked Gregory straight in the eye and said, "I do not think so, Gregory, try not to worry. However, I don't know how long she is going to be like this, and why she is like this. If I only knew what was going on, I would be able to give you a much clearer answer."

Greg sat down in a chair and tapped his foot in frustration "Do you think if we talk to her about Dominic, it will help?"

Everyone shrugged, and Gregory looked off.

"Sometimes things like this must occur for even greater events to take place." Miranda walked near the bed and brushed Luna's hair out of her face. "A long time ago I had a student who was a powerful seer, just like my son. She fell ill before her power reached its peak, and as she lay on her deathbed she told me something that I will never forget."

Pam looked up at Miranda in interest. "What was that Mrs. Deegan?"

"She told me that this was not the end for her. She knew that she had a purpose beyond this life, which comforted the heart of me and my students. The next thing she said, though, puzzled me. She told me she would reach places that none present in the room would see, and that her destiny would come after yet another tragedy."

Her youngest son looked up at her, and with a hopeless expression on his face, shut his eyes and rested his head against the wall. "At least this didn't happen to you, Pam, I'm not sure what I would do if I couldn't heal you."

The young nurse smiled and rubbed his hand with her thumb. "I would have to say the same."

Gregory grabbed her hand and started heading out the door. "C'mon, we are going for a walk. I really need some fresh air, being in there is depressing." He manuevered her out of the small hallway to the outside, where it was bright, beautiful, and sunny. "We won't go far, I just am in desperate need of stretching my legs. I didn't get the ability to walk right again just to ignore it."

"Indeed you didn't." Pam giggled and walked beside Gregory, her hand still holding on to his. "You don't think your mother was trying to say that Luna had to die or anything, do you?"

"I don't think so. She's very smart, so I think some of that stuff goes beyond my head."

"Why do you say that?" Pam's hand leaves his and wanders up his back, "I think you are smart."

"Im afraid I don't delve into all the specifics like Dominic loves to do. I think him and mom are more alike than anyone else in the family. Mom says Im more like my dad, but I don't feel that either. I just feel detached at times, not exactly the greatest feeling to experience."

"You shouldn't say that at all! You have the potential to do almost anything at this point. I've seen you in action, and your quick thinking and advanced abilities are formitable, for sure. Don't ever doubt yourself, Gregory."

"Yeah I am pretty awesome, am I?"

"Maybe. You might want to do a little better on protecting that couch fort though."

Gregory nudged Pam playfully and then whispered in her ear, "You could help me a lot better from the inside."

Pam blushed fiercely, and whispered back, "Are you sure you didn't sneak into that city with Dominic?"

"No!"

She laughed.

"People..."

"are..."

"...idiots." Dominic and Luna chimed in on the last word. They were both lying down on the carpet in the sitting room, looking up at the carvings in the ceiling to alleviate their tired minds. Working at the volunteer center was more mentally exhausting than physical, and both of them were more than happy to go home.

"I guess I'll go tomorrow only because I know those people need help." she said as she stared upwards. "Its for a good cause, no matter which way you throw it." Lina sprang herself up and then got to her feet, and let out a huge yawn.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not staying up another minute. If you need anything, ask Spark. He'll annoy me until I wake up." Lina trudged off to bed, leaving Dominic still lying down. He didn't stay there long though, because fatigue was getting the better of him as well. He got up, slowly, and made sure all the doors and windows were locked for the night. He checked to make sure all appliances and lights were turned off, then he made sure his bed was made on the couch. Happily, he plopped down on the couch ready and eager to get a good nights rest. As he shut his eyes, his thoughts of Luna drifted him off to a wonderfully peaceful slumber.

For about two hours that is.

Tweaking, rustling, and creaking stirred Dominic to consciousness. Dead-tired, he sat himself up and looked around for the cat, which he was sure was breaking things while the rest of the household was trying to get some sleep. _Stupid cat. _He yawned again but before he put his head back to pillow, a soft light shined on him from an indistinct location. It seemed to fill the room but have no source, and this made Dominic clench on tightly to the covers on the couch. _I can't distinguish whether this is an illusion, one of Lina's many contraptions, or something else. Damn it, why isn't it coming to me!_

"Be patient."

His head turned quickly to where the voice was coming from. A small girl in pink pajamas stood there, and the haze that had initially filled the room faded. She had blonde hair almost down to her feet, and a teddy bear, with one blue eye and one black, tucked under her arm.

"Hi." she said.

"Hi. Who are you supposed to be?" Dominic coiled his feet towards him and put himself on the defensive.

"Belinda Eie. Its a pleasure to meet you at last, Dominic Deegan, Oracle of Lynn's Brook."

"Are you kidding, I left that place a long time ago and...hey, how did you know that?" Dominic removed the covers from him and stood up, feeling slightly more confident that way.

"I am a seer. Have you become so accustomed to this world that you forget such things exist? I only have a short amount of time to talk to you, so listen well. I must complete this and guide my soul into the afterlife before it becomes ensnared by Jacob."

Dominic's face immediately twisted up at the mention of his brother's name, but Belinda held up her hand in silence.

"Jacob has been stealing souls for his own selfish purposes. This world is ill prepared for an attack of that nature, so they are like sheep being lead to slaughter. Any soul that dies within his region he will claim, and I am not yet sure of what methods he will take to ensure his success. You know him just as well as I, he wants to test his powers of death, to make himself stronger and better, to test the natural laws himself to see if he can overcome them."

"I knew that is what he was doing!" Dominic sneered, "It didn't take my second sight to figure that out."

Belinda nodded. "I must tell you, that many things you will encounter in the future, with or without your second sight to guide you, will attempt to throw you off track and distract you from what you need to be doing. Do not lose focus on what needs to be accomplished by past biases and experiences. " The haze begins to settle in, and she takes a moment to hug her bear tight before dropping it on the ground. "...and as far as that book is concerned, it is a diary that you seek. Your eyes will not read the pages needed until your mission is complete here. "

Dominic looks at the soft light and the now fading Belinda, and runs his hand through his hair. "Let me guess, you are going to fade away without giving me any more information and make me figure out the rest for myself?" He muttered to her, obviously annoyed.

"Basically. Oh, but I do have one more thing to tell you. Do not forsake your friends. Talk to Lina. Tonight."

"About..." Dominic started to speak but before he could finish Belinda was gone. "Just as I figured. I knew she was going to disappear mid-sentence." He picked up her now normal teddy bear and slumped back down on the couch. Oddly, an almost sinister smile creeped on to his lips as he flipped himself onto the couch so he could lie down. _It's back! My normal abilities! She restored them!_

Happily, the much-less-grumpy seer went back to sleep.

For an hour.

He sat up and put his head in his hands. The only clear instruction Belinda had gave him he was ignoring, and he wouldn't let himself get a decent night's rest until he did. He peeled himself out of bed and into the kitchen. He grabbed himself a glass of milk and some of those store-bought cookies (Lina could cook, not bake) and munched on them as he figured out his game plan.

_I have to trust Lina with who I am and where I am from. Belinda was right, with everything that is going on now is not the time for secrecy. I just hope that this doesn't put her in danger._

After swallowing his fifth butter cookie, he approached Lina's bedroom and knocked on the door. Lina, who wasn't that heavy of a sleeper anyway, got up and opened the door.

"Something wrong?" she asked with a yawn.

"Sort of. I need to talk to you."

She opened the door wider so he could walk inside. They both sat on the bed and Lina propped herself up against a pillow.

_Here it goes. _"You already know my name is Dominic Deegan, and that I am not from around here. Where I come from there are no cell phones, televisions, and all night grocery stores. Some things are the same, but for the most part...different...

The part I really need to tell you about is what I am. I am a seer, meaning I have the ability to see the unaltered future. I am also a student of magic, just like my mother who is a very powerful mage. That man I was telling you to stay away from, he is my..." Dominic grumbles, "brother, Jacob Deegan. A long time ago a necromancer attacked my family. Instead of trying to protect us, Jacob was fascinated by this dark art and decided to embrace it instead. Since then he has used my brother as well as other members of the populus as experiments, just to see how powerful he can get.

You know how you were thinking you saw ghosts? Well I have been too, except Jacob is attempting to steal them in a form of umbramancy to test his own power. Since in this world, unlike my own, people have abandoned their focus on magic and put it on technology, these people would not have a chance against him. I don't know exactly what methods he is using, but you see the urgency here..

Unless I ask you do to something, I want you to stay out of the way. You don't know what that bastard is capable of like I do. "

For about five minutes, Lina didn't say a word. Her hands trembled, hearing about necromancers and dead people was not fun to a person who didn't even care for horror movies. She ran over in her mind what to think of what he said, she wasn't sure that she really believed it, but the look in Dominic's eyes was not that of a liar.

"You really believe this?" she finally asked.

"Yes. For me to tell someone here I know is hard to believe..unless I show you." Dominic cracked his knuckles. "You ready?"

Lina nodded. "I suppose. Seeing is believing, thats what they say at least."

"Hello." A voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw Dominic smirking with his arms crossed behind her. She looked back in front of her, and Dominic was sitting there, with the same smirk.

"Whoah. Two of you?"

"Not really." The Dominic from behind her answered. "A simple illusion I learned years ago."

"Yeah." the Dominic sitting in front of her agreed. " Its easy after the first few times"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Now you are just showing off."

"Fine." The Dominic from behind her disappeared and Lina jumped up in surprise. She waved her hands in defeat.

"I believe you! I believe you okay!!" She curled up her knees to her chest and looked at her friend fearfully.

He frowned. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. I'm not going to do anything to hurt anyone. Now, remember that book I was telling you about. Its a diary Im looking for, and that book on gateways is what I need to get back to my own world, and hopefully bring Jacob with me."

Lina relaxed some, and looked directly into Dominic's eyes. She held his hand and looked off to the side to avoid being embarrassed. "Well since this in confession time, I have something to admit to you too. You are...kinda cute. Different, you know. Something about you just really, is amazing. And I thought that even before all the magic stuff."

He blushed, "Wow. I'm flattered I am, but umm...I have a girlfriend."

She looked back up at him, "You what?"

"Her name is Luna Travoria. She's probably gotten sick worrying about me, and I'm worrying about her just as much. I really appreciate you telling me though. Just remember all I said tonight, and I will make sure Jacob doesn't lay a hand on you." With that Dominic got up and exited the room, waving as he did. Lina grabbed her pillow and put it over her head. All she wanted to do was get her mind off of things and sleep. Hopefully she would be asleep for a long time, because she was not ready to see Dominic for a while.


	9. The Hunt

Two hands slipped inside of a couch fort, made just big enough for two. Spark pounced in from another room, after a mysterious hopping bug, and after spotting the fort, nudges it with his head.

"I'm hungry."

"Not ..now!" Gregory's muffled voice replied.

"I'm hungry."

"Not now."

"Still hungry."

"Not. Now."

"Huungrryyy."

"Go away..I'll do it later."

"Why? You aren't sleeping."

"Thats right. Im NOT sleeping."

"So feed me."

"No!" Gregory's voice was sharper and clearer that time.

Spark paused for a moment, walked around in a circle, and peeked in through a hole. "Im starving."

"Too bad."

"Feed me."

"Grr.."

"Ow...Gregory watch where you put your foot," Pam's voice joined the three.

"What is up with his foot?" Spark asked.

"Er...nothing."

"Does it have anything to do with my food?"

"Why would it have anything to do with your food?"

"Probably nothing, but now that no one is around I havent been fed good food in the past few days! Im hungry"

"Give me an hour.."

"Two please?" Pam asked.

"What do you need an hour for?" The inquisitive cat pawed at the fort.

"Nothing. Just Nothing." Gregory growled.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Silence.

"Nyah!" Spark gets into the couch for and clings onto Gregory's head.

Pam petted Spark.

"Why are you sitting like that anyway, Pam?"

Gregory's scream was muffled under Spark's fur. Eventually he got himself free. "I'll get you some food."

"Dominic would've been much quicker about it. I wish he would hurry up.."

Completely in awe, a boy with sandy blonde hair and a leather jacket walked beside Jacob step by step."So you are interested in the study of death! That's pretty awesome, I didn't know anyone studied things like that."

"Indeed they do. Its always been a fascination of mine, since I was not much older than you."

"Can you teach me what you know? Once I tried to bring my hampster back to life. I read some weird old books, but none of them worked."

"Necromancy is an art just like anything else. It must be practiced and refined."

"My mom would kill me if she found out I was hanging with you. This is so awesome."

Jacob just kept going ahead, with an unamused look. "Maybe one day you can help me with my studies."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"My name is Jake. Yours?"

"That is not really important."

"Then what should I call you?"

Jacob rolled his eyes and looked at the boy who insisted upon following him. "If you must know. I have the same name as you do. Jacob."

"So. Who is that woman following us?"

With an annoyed sigh, Jacob replied. "Ms. Dyana."

Dyana caught up with them and crossed her arms. She looked at Jacob, then the boy, and Jacob nodded his head.

"Dyana this young man has an interest in the black arts. I was planning to show him a few things I have been working on."

She nodded and put her arm around the boy. "He is a good teacher. I know this personally."

"Man, you have a pretty girlfriend."

Jacob pulled ahead of both of them. "She is not my girlfriend"

Dyana glared at Jacob and the boy laughed. "So you are one of those types huh?"

"I'm not a babysitter little boy. Don't you have something to do?"

"Hey!" Jake stopped and stared Dyana straight in the eye. "He said I could hang out with him, and that is what I'm going to do." He ran to catch up with Jacob, and Dyana shook her head.

"Little brat."

"So explain this to me again?"

"Its simple. Boys and girls dress up as ghouls and goblins, knock on people's doors and they get candy." Lina hung up the last of the decorations on her porch and dusted off her hands in completion.

"Why?" Dominic picked up the box of candy and looked through it curiously.

"Its a festival like any other. Halloween, October the 31st, a day of fun and fright. But I guess you wouldn't get that, would you, if the supernatural stuff in your world is well, natural."

He nodded and set the box of candy on the table near the door. "It sounds fun enough, but I didn't think you would be interested in this sort of stuff. You said you saw real ghosts before. If it frightened you then, why participate in something that makes fun of that?"

"I used to try to avoid it, but after a while saw no point in avoiding it. Ghost come and go whenever they feel like it, Halloween has nothing to do with it. Besides, I think I know the difference between a real ghost and a fat kid in a costume."

_You would be afraid if you saw some of Rachel's clothing..._Dominic laughed to himself.

Luna folded up the ladder and set it on the side of the house. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Its been a great week, really, but I don't think I'll be able to relax until I find a way to st-"

"I know I know, to stop your evil brother. I get it, but until we have a game plan you shouldn't go rushing in just to get killed. I don't want you hurt, okay?"

"Same goes for you." He slumped down in a sitting chair and stretched.

"Any visions lately?"

"Nope. I.." His eyes widened and he gripped onto his chair.

"I just jinxed that, didn't I?" Lina walked over and kneeled beside him. "Are you okay?"

Dominic shook his head. "So Jacob has resorted to killing as well. He doesn't have any regard for human life." He gritted his teeth together and spat out the words, "He is going to kill a little girl, trying out a new power he acquired. I have to stop it somehow." He sprang from his chair and went straight out the door before Lina could even blink.

"Wait! Dominic! What did I tell you about running off...I'm just talking to air now." Lina rested against the entranceway of her home and cleaned the dirt from her fingernails. "No way am I going to let him get himself killed.." She darted out the door, determined to catch up with him and follow him.

It was no time at all before Dominic found himself lost in the city. "I should've asked Lina for a map," he grumbled to himself as cars whizzed by on the road. "Let's see..I saw him near a large building with many windows." He looked up. All of the buildings looked that way.

_I just have to remember what I saw in my vision. Large building, busy streets, but what else. A park, children playing in the background, a big red fence around the park, it was just across the street from where I saw Jacob._

"Sir?" He stopped a young man walking by . "Im looking for a park, one with a red fence around it. Can you direct me?"

"The Leland park area?" He rubbed his chin in thought. "Not far from here, just a couple of blocks east and you will run right into it."

"Blocks?"

"Actually its on my way. Follow me." He started walking again, his hands in his jacket. "New around here, I'm guessing?"

"Yes."

"Name's Kendrick. You?"

"Dominic."

"Had a cousin named Dominic. Got shot and killed in a drive by."

"O-kay.."

"Yeah. He was a real trouble maker. In gangs and drugs and all that stuff. Claimed it was the culture of the city. Well if being dead is part of a culture I'll have no part of it. So, you volunteering at the Halloween Party?"

"What do you mean?"

"At the park. Thats why you want to go, isn't it?"

_Why not... _"Yeah."

"I think its a good thing. The kids around here are dropping like flies because they are getting into the wrong stuff. With all the dangers in the world, wars and street violence and disease, we could use a little positive juice in the flow."

Dominic frowned, and finally spotted the red fenced park ahead. "There it is. Thank you..I.." He spots the girl, still alive, walking towards the park from the opposite direction.

"Well I gotta go Kendrick! Thanks for showing me.." He ran off towards the girl, _Now what am I going to say to her to stop this vision? _

The girl was about 10 years old, a mini-goth, and listening to a CD player. Dominic cut her off before she could cross the street to the park.

"Hey. Im one of the park's directors and I wanted to tell you that the party doesn't start until nightfall."

She crossed her arms and glared at Dominic, with a what-business-is-it-of-yours look. "Im not going to the stupid halloween party, Im crossing the street. Moron."

_Stupid little brat, probably doesn't deserve to see her parents again. _He saw Jacob out of the corner of his eye and pushed the girl away. "This area is closed off so we can prepare for the party. Just deal with it."

"Im crossing the street, okay? This is the shortcut to my house."

"Go the other way before I throw you there."

"Don't make me call the police.."

_What would Lina do in this situation?...I know. _He dug in his pocket and pulled out 20 dollars. "20 bucks says you take the long way home. Saw some nice shops in the opposite direction."

"Deal." She grabbed the money and ran off.

"Sad state this world is in, but where is Jacob?" He turned around and saw Jacob's arm around a young boy with sandy blonde hair. They were talking about something, he wasn't sure what from the distance he was at, but when Jacob walked away the young man was frozen in place.

"Crap!" He made his way over to him and shook his shoulders, "Are you alright?"

The boy finally sat down and nodded. "Yeah. I think so. Just feel weird is all."

Dominic looked him over, and saw nothing. _He didn't do anything? Maybe he was just talking to him. _"Well go home and get some rest." _I better not let Jacob out of my.._He looked around for him, only to see he was gone. _sight. Wonderful. I better get back to Lina before she.._

"Do you know how worried I was about you?" Lina ran up to him. "I would've been here a lot sooner if I had've known where in the hell you were going."

He narrowed his eyes and approached her. "Im not a child, Lina, and I think I know a lot more about this than you do."

"Going up against anything like this aline is stupid. Maybe I'm just trying to help you out."

"Well maybe I'm just trying to prevent you from being killed."

"I need a smoke."

"You smoke?"

"Not anymore..."

"Wow. That's quite the accomplishment, I know quitting that stuff is hard."

"I didn't really have a choice..."

"What?"

"Just forget it. You want me to help you hand out candy or not?" Dominic walked past her.

"Hey! Hey will you wait up! We can catch the bus instead of walking all the way back, Dominic are you listening to me! You are such a grouch sometimes!"

"Trick or Treat!"

Each kid's song was the same as they came to the house and emptied Lina of her candy. She was dressed up herself, in a black witches dress and a pointy hat.

"You know, not all witches look like that." Dominic looked her over and smiled as he handed a girl in a princess dress a bag of chocolates.

"Probably not, but you know this dress looks good on me. Go in the back and get that second box of candy, I'm running low and these kids are greedy."

_Delivery boy Dominic to the rescue..._He trudged through all the decorations that ended up falling off the house, but stopped to listen to the news report on the TV as he picked up the box.

**Two weeks after the devistating hurricane, it has been a real community effort to give the kids of the area as normal a halloween as possible. Areas too dangerous for children to walk have been marked off, and parental supervision is a must for each group. **

**Breaking News, Leland Elementary School Student Jacob Bracey passed away this evening, and his death is being investigated. His skin was black from his right arm to his left leg, and this only appearing hours before he died. Scientists from the University have been called over to examine this sudden illness and hopefully prevent it from happening again. More as the situation develops.**

"Here you go kid, "Lina tossed the last bag she had to a kid in a super hero costume, and then called back to Dominic. "Hey do you have that next bag of candy or not! Dominic..." She jumps as she hears something crash. "Dominic?"

She walked in to see Dominic just standing there, candy all over the floor and him in a daze.

"Another vision?"

"No, the news. That is the boy I saw Jacob with earlier. They were talking about something. I looked at him, he looked okay, and now he is dead."

"W-What..?"

"Earlier I saw a vision of him killing this girl. I saved her but the bastard ended up attacking the boy instead. I lost him though while I was checking to see if he is alright."

Lina ignored the doorbell as she sat down slowly. "Are you sure your brother killed this guy?"

"Positive. Most of his body was blackened, definately something I have seen before. The same thing was done to my younger brother, Gregory, but not at this severity."

''What should we do?"

"Its too late for him. His soul is probably taken away too. We have to find him and stop him before he uses this city as one giant experiment."

The doorbell rang again. Lina nervously picked up the candy and put it in the box. "Stay here tonight." She didn't say another word about it, she just finished cleaning up and headed back to the door. With a straight face as opposed to her usual smile, she gave out the candy to the children. She couldn't help but wonder if they would be the next victims of this madman.

Dominic eventually got back to the front door and helped her hand out candy. He felt guilty for getting her shaken up, but Belinda had stated, not that he didn't already know before, that he needed to be honest with her.


	10. The Discovery

Lina asked herself continuously why she was mowing the lawn of the same old man that used to throw sticks at her when she was seven years old. The only answer she could come up with was that he was a rich old coot and whatever money she could get besides her online internet business would be great. In the midst of the midday sun, unusually hot for that time of the year, she wiped the sweat from her brow and pushed and pulled the heavy outdated lawnmower around the 'estate', a really large yard that the man insisted be cut to perfection once a year. This meaning it was only cut ONCE a year.

"I'm done Mr. Stephon!" Lina shouted as she fell down tired on the freshly cut grass. Her face was just inches away from the blade on the mower, but she was so tired she could care less. The old man hobbled out of his rocking chair, grabbed his cane and very slowly made his way over to her.

She stared up at him. He looked down at her. He dropped the money on her face, and walked off.

"Grr.." Lina forced herself to sit up and she counted the bills, " $250.00. Not bad for pulling every muscle in my body." With intense concentration, because thats what it would take, she rose to her feet and shoved the money in her pocket. "Now I have the cash money to get some serious shopping done." She smacked the idea of new shoes and pigging out at the mall food court from her mind, and made her way to the car to make a real shopping list.

She fiddled through the glove compartment and dug out about five dollars and baseball tickets she won from a radio show. Next she pulled out the paper she needed to write on, but under that was an old slip of paper with an address written on it.

"No way! I can't believe...I have to go there right away and see if he is still there. Its not far from here either!"

Twenty minutes and a couple of detours later she drove into a broken down neighborhood with a lot of wire fences. All the way down at the end of the block was a fairly decent looking house compared to the rest, with blue shutters and a light blue paint job. After finding a place to park, she ran up to the old house and knocked for a while. No answer. She looked in the windows and she could see dust covered furniture. "This is the address. " Lina looked down at the slip of paper. "521 Harting just like it says, but its abandoned. Just like everywhere else I tried." Exhausted, she flopped herself down on the steps and tossed the slip into the wind. "He could've helped me make sense of all this. Maybe he could've even helped Dominic, I don't know. Why is it that psychotics and people you really need to see disappear into thin air when you need them?"

Shrugging at the whole situation, she strolled back over to her car and got inside. Digging her hand into some chili cheese fries, she sped off, making a sharp right turn onto the road that would lead her to the interstate.

"Things to do," she said aloud as she grabbed a chili stained to do list and held it up against the steering wheel."Go grocery shopping. Pick up new eyeglass cases, go to orthodontist, probably end up with a funky new retainer, side note right here to call Dominic on his cell right away if there is any necromancer sightings..." she paused and bit her lip, then continued reading, "Stop by the thrift store and look for any diaries that look like they came out of a space movie, also need to pick up cat food and a new scratching post for Spark, make sure its tuna-salmon flavored, Also make sure to get Dominic lots of s'mores cookies and tortilla chips. . Man that guy has weird tastes, Oh, and orange soda, plenty of that." She sat the list back down and began to speed, she was close to her exit and she was sure she saw a cop in the mirror she wanted to avoid.

Meanwhile, Dominic was busy with chores of his own. Trying to keep his mind focused on the tasks at hand and not on his brother, he lifted up the 'vacuum' and examined it. _How did she say to use this thing. Put this in ..the wall. _He put the plug in the socket. _Uncoil the rope, I mean, the cord. _He uncoils the cord from the vacuum and let it fall down to the ground. _Flip the switch closest to your hand. _He flipped the red switch on the handle, and it snapped out of the upright position. _Press the pedal at the bottom of the vacuum with your foot. _He pressed down on it and the vacuum started up.

"Easy enough. Now I run this over the dirty carpet, and it sucks the dirt from the floor." Confidently, he began to vacuum Lina's bedroom first. He went around the corners of the bed, under the small dresser, and into all other nooks and crannies. Spark trotted in and stared at the vacuum. After giving it warning growl, hopped up on Lina's bed and stared at Dominic with big, sad, eyes.

"MeoOowoWOooww!"

"What?"

"MeoOowoWOooww!"

Dominic continued to vacuum, ignoring the cat now. _Normally I want my Spark to shut up and be a normal cat, but I wish this one could speak and tell me what he really wants. Too bad I don't have a spell handy for that._

Bored with Dominic, Spark hopped from the bed to the dresser and began playing with the scarf.

_Must've left that here when I was talking to Lina_. Before Dominic could react, Spark knocked the scarf onto the floor and VLLOOMMP! The scarf got sucked up by the vacuum. The cat, of course, prances off like nothing happened.

"W-w-wha..You have got to be kidding me.." Quickly, he snapped off the vacuum, unplugged it, and stared at its bottom to see if he could tug it out. He grabbed it, braced his foot against the vacuum. As soon as he heard a ripping sound he stopped, and sat down in defeat. _I'll just wait for Lina to come home._

"MeoOowoWOooww!"

"Whatever." He went to the fridge and fished around for anything the cat could eat. He tore off a piece of meat from leftovers and some milk from the jug and gave him that. When the cat had shut up, he flopped on the couch, took off his glasses, and stared idly at the ceiling.

"Honey, I'm home!" Lina opens the door and walks in, huge bags covering her face, "Can someone help me?"

He got up from his seat and grabbed some of the bags from the kitchen. "How was your morning?"

"Fine. Yours?"

"Your vacuum ate my scarf."

"..."

"Let me put this stuff away and I'll take apart the vacuum and get it out.I'll even wash it for you."

With a cold glare at the now-full cat, Dominic began to put away all the groceries. He had been there long enough to know where everything was, but as he pondered on that, a longing for his home began to set in.

_If what Belinda said is correct, I have to defeat Jacob if I ever want to go home. I don't know why I'm letting this girl slow me down._

Lina reached up to put the bread up on the shelf, but loses her grip and the loaf bops her on the head.

He smiled.

He frowned.

Before his eyes he saw Lina looking at a book of black magic. There was a darkness to her eyes, a determination that scared him. He tightly clenched his fist as soon as he realized what was going on.

"Hello. Hello psychic boy, wake up." Lina bopped him on the head with the bread.

Dominic shook her head and he again saw the present.

"Another vision?"

He nodded.

"What about?"

He just stared at her. _How could she? How could she practice the magic of death and destruction? She says she wants to help me, but she is no different from Jacob! _ He opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Dominic?"

He walked off.

"What did I do this time?"

Frustrated, the seer opened Lina's bedroom door and shut himself in. Lina followed soon after, and knocked on the door a few times. "What did you see? Did Jacob kill someone else. I'm your friend, you have to trust me. Whatever it is you saw I'll help with it. Please...I care about you. I'm going to stand here and blast rap music throughout the house if you don't open the door."

The door immediately opens.

She walks in and sits beside her friend, putting an arm around him. "Now what is going on?"

Trying to control the intensity of his gaze, Dominic kept his eyes to the floor. "You have never messed with necromancy before, have you? I need you to answer me honestly. Have you ever known anyone to mess with it?"

"I...what did you see?"

"Answer my question."

"I can put your fears to rest, I have never messed with it but, my uncle did. He was a very strange man that the family thought to be crazy. When he heard me complain about being able to see ghosts, he told me something strange. He said that in our family was the strength of black magic, the potential of necromancy and all magics dealing with death. He did say, however, we could use it for good or for evil. According to him, while most people choose a field in which to study, to others it is a natural ability. In our family..."

"Necromancy is ALWAYS a choice" Dominic cut her off, his teeth pressed together.

"Not according to my uncle. He claims his grandfather was a powerful one, but his children thought it to be too dark and made sure the family forgot it. He sought out to awaken it, thinking it was a blessing and not a curse. My seeing ghosts was supposedly a sign that I would bring the family power back to the forefront. He taught me a few things, but I never had a chance to try because my mother thought him crazy and forbid me from seeing him."

Relaxing some, Dominic patted her hand but still didn't look her in the face. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Because I was afraid and I was doing a good job of forgetting everything. You said so yourself, you don't just bump into seers and soceresses on the way to the supermarket around here. I didn't know what I was so forgetting it was the only defense I had. I know you hate your brother, but please don't hate me for something I cannot control."

With a heavy sigh, the seer stood up and finally looked her in the eye. He cupped her cheek with his hand. "I don't hate you, but promise me you will never pursue this art."

"Actually, I am trying to figure out where my uncle moved to, now that my parents have passed on. Dominic I hate to say this, but maybe if we have to battle a necromancer we can use a necromancer to do it..."

"No."

"But Dominic?"

"We can do it another way."

"Maybe I was given this power for a reason."

"I said NO." He stormed out of the room and shut the door.

"What?!? Dominic you are not going to lock me in here now! Dominic!" She swung open the door and looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be found. The front door was left ajar, and she ran up to it, looking around the yard for him.

"You idiot. Why is he such a hot head?" Her eyes lowered sadly, "Talking about his brother or necromancy is just pressing his alarm buttons I guess. He has an hour before I search this city to find him."

Ten minutes later, Lina was pacing the living room nervously. "I just have this gut feeling, that maybe I can help somehow. Maybe my uncle was right, maybe the power of death and destruction and stuff can be used for good." She sat down and put her head on her knees. "Saying that aloud, I can understand why Dominic left. I just really really hope he comes back." She stared at the clock and tapped her fingers nervously against her thigh. "Now, he better come back right now!"

_I just need to get some air. Maybe I'll get something to eat, and come back before she tracks me down. Luna would probably be yelling at me for yelling at her right now. She would say that she is not my brother and that I need to calm down. I wish I could, but its like running over an exposed nerve. I just wish I were home. With Luna in my arms, its impossible for me to be upset. I want to be there to protect her, but as usual, my idiot brother is messing things up._

He opened his wallet as he walked into a convenience store to pick up some food. _Lets see, how much did Lina give me? I really should get a job, but I'm not sure how well my old shop would do around here. _He remembered why he left his old job in the first place and shivered in fear. _Was I just considering answering people's moronic questions again? I must be under a lot of stress._

"Italian sausage please," he told the guy at the counter, and recieved his food. He tossed up a bag of chips to add to the cost, and crossed his fingers.

_I'm still not used to this monetary system, though I'm pretty sure I have enough._

"$3.89" the cashier told him.

Dominic handed him a five dollar bill.

"Out of Five, $1.11 is your change."

He took the change, stuffed it in his pocket and started back munching on his hot lunch. A man on a skateboard cut in front of him, and raised his hand for the seer to stop.

"So, you can tell the future, can't you?"

"Who are you?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Someone who knows a whole lot more about you, your brother, and everything that is going on. It's amazing really what can be done with magic these days, especially to an unsuspecting public. Jacob may not care for you much, but maybe if you were to help him..."

"I hate him. I would do nothing to help him."

"You are known for you immense mental power, Deegan. But sometimes seeking allies is helpful."

"You are telling me to trust a necromancer?"

"No. I'm telling you the greatest disguise ever is the dead dressing up as the living."

"What is that supposed to-" before the seer could finish his sentence, the man on the skateboard dissolved slowly before his very eyes, eventually becoming nothing more than a dust cloud to be carried off by the wind.

_Damn you Jacob. He isn't the type to taunt me, though...maybe he has allies I have to worry about now. What in the hell is he trying to pull off now?_

He took another bite of his sausage and chewed and swallowed quickly, but ended up getting some caught in his throat.

"Ac.." He holds his throat as he coughs, "I blame that on him too."


	11. The Connection

"I got you all the information I needed. When do I get my due?" Dyana sprawled herself out on the bed, unzipping her top slowly like a high class stripper.

"One word. Implants." Jacob whispered. "I don't know why you insist on torturing me like this."

She sat up, zipped back up, crossed her arms and her legs and gave the necromancer the nastiest stare she could muster"Can you explain this to me one more time then? I would like an excuse to why I am helping you in the first place.''

"One. More. Time. Corona Nigromantia, simplied to Nekros Axis. It is a simple yet powerful procedure that encases all ungrounded souls to a single location, me. Once it has expanded to capacity, something I am still waiting on, many variables can be manipulated within the axis."

"Yes, I get that. And in your world..."

"There would be too many people aware of the growth of power. Here, the minds are dulled to it. I did not lie when I said the people here are too busy for their own good."

"Fine fine. If I help you maintain this Nekros Axis, I hope you remember what I get in return."

"I'll give you the key to spreading disease outside of the Axis.''

"Perfect. I'll become an international sensation, charging high prices for curing the deadliest diseases and becoming an international superstar. I will be a goddess! People will come and kiss my feet and be in awe at my glory. I could not imagine a more perfect situation. You can be by my side of course, and trust me, once you get a taste of fame, you will not be able to-" she stopped and saw that Jacob had already left.

"...get away from it. Because I'm going to put a leash on your tight ass."

Coming in through the storm's pounding rain, an older woman dressed in grays and blues forces her way into the inn and shuts the door against the howling winds. In contrast to her age, she had very long, very well kept flowing black hair, that was dyed gray at the end purposely to give a sense of mystery. Tired and drenched, she waves a hand to the barkeep and heads immediately to one of the rooms on the corner. A tarantula crawled from under her loose hanging, tattered shirt, up to her shoulder, and she petted it with her free hand as the other one held onto her wood-carved cane with a golden printed grip.

"Where is Travoria?" she hissed. Her eyes darted to a few of the other rooms, and walked to the room on the left. She opened the door. Gregory was asleep in a chair across the room from Luna's bed, and Luna lay tossing and turning in a feverful slumber.

"Travoria!" the woman yelled.

Gregory woke up and fell out of his chair. "Oww..." he rubbed his elbow and slowly made his way to his feet. "Lady you could've just knocked."

"Do you want my help or not? This will cost you many..."

"I have the money. You are supposed to be the most in touch with any ailment, physical or magical. I know you cannot cure it, but can you at least see what's wrong with her?" He sat back in his chair and folded his hands, looking at the cranky woman with a weary expression.

"I MIGHT not be able to do anything, but if I do, it will cost you extra. And I know what you are thinking, boy, and I look nothing like that old bat that this girl called mother.."

"O-okay. You are a s-"

"I am many things, but do not insult me by limiting me to such a pathetic level." She shook her cane at Gregory, and then scanned the ailing girl. She ran her bony hand across her cheek, her nose, her elongated teeth, down to her neck and to her shoulders. She muttered a tongue that Gregory could not follow and with a snap of her fingers, a sly smile crossed her face.

"She is having an unholy connection."

"What do you mean by that?"

"An unholy connection. She is one soul with one in another world, which I cannot tell. This other One has uncontrolled power within her, a very dangerous and dark power, and because it is not controlled it flows freely to her soul and sickens her with disease."

"So you are saying someone is making her this way?"

"They do not even know they do it, they are not aware of their Other soul. I can do my best to hold it at bay, but if the power is not controlled soon the Other one might eliminate her soul within this world."

Biting his lip, Gregory walked to Luna's bedside and held her hand. With his other hand, he tapped against the wall nervously. "My brother will make sure I walk with a limp again if we don't find a way to stop this. I'm paying you a lot of money lady, don't you have anything else to say?"

"I thought I said enough!" The woman smacked Gregory with her cane and he fell over. "Did you not hear what I just said? It is up to the Other one to decide Travoria's fate. Once this is mastered the flow will stop and the disease will dissapate. I will not repeat myself again."

''So we have to wait on someone who doesn't know what she is doing to stop doing it? Is there any way we can contact her?"

The woman scratched her chin thoughtfully, and plucked a hair from it.

Gregory's face twisted up. "Eww.."

"An idea, lad, that may be possible. It is quite possible to open up a link to the Other. But this is no illusion spell, nor something else trivial. It will take preparation, and time. Perhaps in the late hours of this night, at the earliest, at the latest...a week."

Gregory cringed at the last estimate, and began to pace the room. "Will she live for a week more??"

"I do not know."

"Its your job to know."

"It is also my job to hit you if ya keep disrespecting me. I tought your mother much, do not disgrace her with your childish impatience."

" I am not a child. Just do what you have to do, okay? I'm going to go check on someone." He slipped into the next room.

"Travoria, I have every right to kill you. Your mother disgraced my family, time and time again, with her selfish and wicked ways. She not only cheated us out of every last coin, but she also had the nerve to laugh in our face about it. Anyone remotely connected to that bloodline should have the same fate as your mother. Even seeing your face makes me ill, and not even poison would dull the pain you have caused me. Be glad I have a job to do, because if I did not..." she raised her cane in anger, aiming it directly at Luna's face.

Gregory walked in just in time and pushed the old woman away, grabbing her cane. "What were you planning to do, you old hag?" He gasped for air and made sure to keep distance between the woman and Luna.

"Nothing. So you do not trust me now?"

"I heard what you said. If you have those sort of feelings about something she had nothing to do with, maybe you should leave."

"I was given a job and I will complete it." She twisted his hand and thrusted him to the floor. Smacking him again for good measure, she twisted this time the grip on her cane, releasing a blade from its bottom. With a sturdy hand, she slit Luna's cheek and it flowed with blood of an odd dark tint. Seeing this pleased her, and she knelt down in ritualistic prayer.

"I'd bet that this is all unecessary you are just.."

SMACK!

"Ow!" Gregory held his ankle and fell over again. "Stop hitting me with that thing."

SMACK!

"Stop it!"

SMACK!

"What am I doing?"

"Shut up before you have to spend even more time healing yourself" The woman continued her prayer, and poor Gregory took the time to heal his hurt ankle. Soon after that, two arms wrapped around his shoulders and he looked up to see Pam smiling at him.

"Shh.." he whispered to her, "You better be quiet, or the witch Cassarah will smack you with that stupid cane."

She nodded and pulled him into the other room where she had been sleeping to talk. "You invited Cassarah here? If any of the townspeople found out about that, we could be driven out of town."

"I know that. Luna was just getting worse and worse, nothing we were doing was helping any. I had to try her."

She sat down on the bed and patted the seat beside her. "Are you sure there was no one else?"

"Not that I know of, and I didn't want to have to take the time to research it. When I heard Cassarah was in the area I offered her a great sum to come see Luna and figure out what was going on. It's our responsibilty to take care of Luna until Dominic gets back."

"Luna was so worried about him," Pam took off her cap and set it in her lap, and took his hand in hers. "We all thought it was the stress at first, but if it is beyond that, I hope Cassarah can help. I just wish I could've done something."

"You did what you could."

"It never makes me feel any better when I'm powerless to help."

A bad thought came to mind, and Gregory stood up. "I feel bad for leaving Luna alone with that witch, Pam. She hates the Travoria family, obviously Luna's stupid mother crossed her path in the past and for a moment I thought she was going to kill her. She's a good friend of mine, I can't let anything happen. Still, the witch claimed over and over again that she was given a job to do and that she intends to do it, her love for monetary gain luckily outweighs the need for revenge this time."

The nurse made an odd face, then a relieved one. "Did she say anything about Luna's condition?"

"Well she.."

"QUIET IN THERE!" The witch crowed loud enough for the whole inn to here.

He scrunched up his face, leaned over and kissed Pam's ear. "Yes, and you will soon see for yourself," he whispered.

With one stubborn case of insomnia, Lina streched herself out on the sofa and attempted to empty the last of the ice cream from the carton. Bored, she watched the late night talk shows and came to the assumption they made the same dirty jokes over and over.

"Need to put this away." She yawned, grabbing the carton and the ice cream spoon and dragging herself over to the kitchen to rinse them out. She saw one of her kitchen knives out on the table, and when she reached for it, she let out a piercing scream.

"DOMINIC! HELP ME!"

Right in the middle of 'help' and 'me' Dominic fell off the couch startled, got rolled into the covers like a burrito, and had to fight his way out and run to the kitchen to see what was wrong. Lina was holding her hand, now dripping with blood.

"Dominic the knife cut me! I saw- I saw it out, so I was going to put it away. I reached for it, but before I even touched it it shot up, cut my hand and fell!"

He grabbed some paper towels to stop the bleeding, but froze in his tracks when he got a good look at her hand. "There is something about that wound.."

"Dominic?"

"What is it?"

"Dominic its you!"

"Yes its me, what are you talking about Li- Lina?" He put his hands on her shoulders and stared into baby-blue eyes. They were a unique shade, that belonged to one person and one person alone.

"Luna?"

"Yes. What's going on? Where am I?" She spun around, and immediately noticed her clothes. "What am I wearing?" The voice was now distinctly that of Luna's, and all the seer could do now was stare with his mouth half open.

"I thought you were dead!" She pulled him into her embrace, crying her eyes out on his shoulder. "You disappeared so long ago! You were right there, not a foot away from me! I knew you wouldn't have abandoned me, so I thought something must've killed you! I was so afraid! Dominic, I love you!" She choked on her own tears, "I love you, don't do that!"

Tears came to his eyes. He wrapped his arms tightly around his beloved, and remained silent. He was her shoulder to cry on. He would always be there for her, that was a promise he made to himself a long time ago. With an extra squeeze, he gave the effort to prevent himself from crying more, but wasn't sure if he could hold back much longer.

"I wasn't sure if I would ever see you again either, Luna.." he finally spoke, keeping his firm hold on her, "But now I realize why I was brought here. Jacob somehow got to this strange world, and he is going to do something horrible if I don't stop him. "

"But how did he get here? What is here?"

"Another world parallel to ours. Its technology dependent, Luna, you wouldn't believe some of the things that I have seen here."

"Are the people any smarter?"

"People just aren't smart, Luna." He rubbed her back softly, rocking her back and forth gently.

"I'm not going to let you go now. You have to stay with me."

He released her to wipe his own tears, and lifted her cheek with his chin. "I can't right now."

"Dominic something is wrong with me and I know I need you there. I'm afraid if you don't come back now I might die."

His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach, and a sickly feeling overcame him. "No, no you won't."

"Then come back!"

"Luna.."

She sat down on the floor and held onto her legs. "I know you have to do what you have to do, but there are so many people worried for you on the other side. Gregory is doing his best to try to take care of me, but there is no replacing you. We NEED you. I need you."

With a kiss place softly on her lips, Dominic remainded only a breath away from her as he spoke"You have to pull yourself together, I want to see that brilliant girl I fell in love with. No more tears okay"

"I'm not crying.." Luna touched her face, and saw the tears flowing. "Strange. Its like I'm not doing it."

"Lina. Lina are you in there somewhere?"

"Who is Lina?" She stood up again.

"Ah, Well I.." _This must be it. The cat named Spark, the fact that Lina looked identical to Luna as a child, even the dental problems. This must be her other self. They switched places somehow, but I am not sure who initiated it. That is what worries me._

"Dominic?"

"Lina is a friend of mine. I believe she is another version of you."

"I'm not following you."

"Remember our studies on dimensional theory. I could have another self here for all I know, or I could not. In order for another world to come into existence their must be at least one link to one that previously existed. There could be a parallel from everyone back home to everyone here, or there could just be the one, you. It varies depending on where you are."

"Right! Of course! So my other self is named Lina."

"Yes."

"Is she prettier than I am?"

"No no, of course not. You are the only one I'd ever look at."

Luna nodded. "Thank you for saying that."

Dominic did his best to keep a positive expression, but it became harder with each passing moment. Lina's pain was evident, but to ignore that he concentrated on Luna's joy. He figured the best way to do that was to get back to business. "Who opened this channel, Luna?"

"I think, a witch. Yes, I heard the witch speak to me. Cassarah."

_That demon! What possible good could she be doing? She would sell someone out for a bowl of soup! _"Why did you trust her, Luna, why is she helping you?"

"It was not my choice to call her."

"So it was my brother. I know neither of my parents would be so bold." _Why does Gregory have faith in those he knows can't be trusted? When I get back home I owe him a couple of smacks in the head._

"She is speaking now, the old witch." Luna shut her eyes, " She says I will return later. I love you, Dominic."

"Luna." He shut his eyes and gave her another passionate kiss. Her eyes shot open again and the baby blue color returned to an earthy brown. Dominic was still well preoccupied with the kiss, but Lina was so stunned with the sensation of it all she was afraid to move. She wanted this kiss so badly, but she could not betray Dominic now, not when his faith in her was so little after the necromancer discovery. She tapped his shoulder.

He opened her eyes and noted the change. "Were you, when I..was umm..."

She nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry."

"It was scary in there. Everything was black, and I felt so sick and helpless. At the same time though I could hear you both talking, I could see you in a sense, as faded images against the blackness. I saw you kiss, I heard you declare your love for each other, everything."

He shut his eyes again.

"Dominic?" Lina sounded eerily like Luna for a moment, but it was her own, timid, and shaky voice this time.

He embraced her. "You are my friend. Luna has a place in my life but so do you, just like my brother and all my friends back home. I'm never going to forget you, even when I go back home."

"Perfect way to let down a girl, huh?"

"Don't look at it that way. Concentrate on what you do have, and not on what you don't."

"Okay brother-dearest," Lina gave her lighthearted laugh that Dominic had also fallen for, and then she leaned against the fridge legs crossed. "Remind me, did I ever completely get your scarf out of that vacuum?"

"I don't think so."

"Do I still have to do it?"

"Yes."

"Luna. Luuunnaa. Luna" Gregory poked her twice in the arm.

She opened her eyes and looked around the room she was in.

"You scared us to death Luna!" Pam hugged her gently, and Luna graciously returned the hug.

"I'm fine, you guys. I know where Dominic is. He is trapped in a parallel to this world, and he said something about stopping his brother. It soothes me to know that he is alive and well"

"Thats what the witch told us too. I'm just glad you are better now. But, did Dominic tell you about the darkness within this other person too?"

The witch got up from her seat, tired of observing, and waved her cane crankily at Luna, "I told him that the Other had power within her that she couldn't control, and that is why you are so sick."

"I see.."

"So you better hope Dominic can teach that girl or show that girl what for, or this temperary healing will be just that. Temporary. Now that that is settled, I will be taking my pay and leaving.."

Gregory sprang up and shut the door before the old woman could leave."Wait, witch. I will pay you more if you stay around and keep the illness at bay for a while."

"How much more?" She asked calmly.

"Whatever it takes." He looked sadly at Pam. Pam nodded, "Yes, I'll give you a loan."

"Fine. I'll stay around a bit. I hope you know your tongue and throat will belong to me if you lack a single unity of currency."

With a glare from Pam, Gregory smiled nervously at the witch. "We will have your money paid."

"Good. For You." The youngest Deegan sneered.


	12. The Training

_I may have my power back, but its not doing me any good at the moment. _The rain fell in sheets outside of the cafe, where Dominic was hunched over a counter with a latte in hand. _On the news each day, more people are dying of mysterious illnesses as my brother tests his power. I can't pinpoint where he is at anytime, something or someone is blocking me from his exact location, and my best tactic right now is just to search for him. _He glanced at his watch. _1 am. They are going to close up soon. _ He slid his money over to the cashier and headed out, this time with an umbrella.

He quickened his steps as the cold wind got to him. _Better get back, Lina goes into her 'worried housewife' mode if I'm late. _Before he got a chance to cross the intersection, a sickening screech and crash sounded behind him. Two cars, then three, then four, had smashed into each other.

_Shit. _He ran over and began tugging at the door of the small red car, trying to pry it open. Inside a toddler was trapped into a car seat. He saw part of her mother within the twisted metal, and, trying to ignore the horrific image, gave the door one last jerk before it opened, but just a little. He braced his foot against the insider and was able to get it open more with his foot, and immediately reached for the child. Unbuckling her, he pulled her out of the wreckage.

_This is the time where I forget my cell phone! _He looked at the child, who was crying and wriggling around from all the commotion. By now other people had crowded a scene, and he could hear the sirens of police cars in the distance.

_I can't promise you much, but I won't let Jacob get your soul.._ Human nature caused him to take one last look at the wreck, and a cold shiver crept up his spine and brought a tear to his eye. The child's parents were dead, and worse off, they couldn't even rest in peace as long as his brother was on the loose. He waited impatiently for the authorities to get there and immediately handed over the child.

"I- I got her out. From over there." He pointed to the red car.

The officer took the child and nodded. "Thank you, you should clear the scene now so we can do our job." She walked off, and Dominic was left in yet anothe predicament. He had to find a new way back home.

The only option he could think of was to cut across someone's yard to the other street, Hartly street he was sure it was called, and then down to the house. He grabbed the umbrella he had dropped on the sidewalk, and trudged through the mucky, muddy grass to the other side.

_I don't think Lina will ever be able to convince me those things aren't death traps. The speed is convenient, but there are enough ways to die as it is. _He made his turn on Hartly, then sprinted towards the house. Two feet away from the door a light came on in the house. Then the door opened. He slowed down even more, as he got a glimpse of Lina, her hair in two curlers, a huge T-shirt with the words "You're in for It" on it, and a jug of hot chocolate resting in her right hand.

"In."

He obeyed, shaking off his umbrella first and sticking it in the umbrella rack beside the door.

"I'm not going to freak out at you. But please at least tell me before you take off." She handed him the hot chocolate and rubbed his back, leading him further inside.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to sue me for smacking you with that car a while back?"

"What's going on?"

"We have a visitor." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen, where an older man with a toupee and a twinkie in his mouth was sitting there reading the newspaper. "Dominic Deegan, this is my uncle, Eric Starrow."

Pam walked back into Luna's room, food in hand, and served a steaming bowl of vegetable soup to Gregory. She looked to Carrasah, and in a polite, quiet voice, asked a question.

"When you performed that ceremony over Luna, were you not supposed to contact the other side and warn them of Luna's illness.''

The witch stared Pam straight in the eye, and began to pace about the room, rubbing what appeared to be the start of a mustache. When Greg's eye caught this, he squinted his eyes and lowered his head in an attempt not to laugh. He knew if he laughed now, Pam's question might never be answered.

"I can't."

"What?" Greg clenched his fist. "You didn't give them any information when you did all that."

"They switched for a time, this you know. The only message I could get out, subconsciously at that, was when to end it less there be more trouble."

Luna nodded and stood up, relieved to be on her feet again. "I remember that. I remember knowing that I had to go, and my heart breaking that I couldn't stay there much longer. I just wish I could've told Dominic to tell Lina what to do."

"If this Lina has dark powers I don't think he'll want to." Gregory took a seat on Luna's bed, "You know how much of a hangup he has about our brother. If it is along those lines, I don't think he will have it in him to do it."

Pam squeaked.

Everyone stared.

She took a deep breath. "Sorry, this is all making me really nervous. He just has to know. Luna, since you know the whole story now, next time you cross over into Lina's world you can tell him exactly what is going on. "

"What if I don't do it right? " Luna began to sob, "What if he doesn't want to save me? What if this Lina girl is prettier than I am? And if she is just like me, but more beautiful, he will have no reason to look at me at all."

"You know for a fact that is a lie, Luna." Pam crossed her arms, "And as a healer, I know that thinking things like that is unhealthy. Until we can get you back over there you have to relax."

"Pam's right," Gregory cut in, "My brother is no two-timer. He may be a geek and an outsider, but he is loyal."

"Spoken like a true brother." Luna patted him on the back.

"It's the tooth."

Luna eyes sparkled with flame as she stared right through Greg. The poor guy was a breathing target.

"ERrm, Too-Truth!!" He sprang to his feet and backed up, " I can't believe I screwed up again. I'm not usually this bad, sorry Luna. We are all a little stressed here."

Pam blushed at the embarrassing display, and focused her attention back on the old witch"Madam Cassarah, how long will it be, before you can reestablish the connection? It is possible to try it again, right?"

"Since you are going to be keeping me here, I suppose it is. Two Moons. Two Moons from now I will make a connection, but there will not be a third time. Travoria better get through to Dominic, and fix this thing or the lass," Just one of her eyes shot to Luna while the other stayed on Pam, "Will not make it much longer."

Pam nodded, and then took stock of the run down mood of the room. "We just need to get our minds focused on something positive. How about a word game?"

"I'll be finding me own room," Cassarah murmured, and hobbled out of the room much to everyone else's joy.

"No. I don't want her getting mixed up in this. I think you should leave."

"Kid, if all the stuff you are saying is true, then Lina here really is the ressurection of our family's name." Eric stood up and stared straight in the seer's eyes. "I knew there would be a time when we would be needed, somehow, and because of all the bad publicity necromancy gets you people want to shut it down."

"You idiot. What possible good could a magic of death and destruction do for anyone? That is all it is, I know first hand!"

"Child, don't speak what you don't know. You try to fit everyone into little boxes. Necromancers bad, normal people good, well it doesn't fit that way and you know it. I don't care if your brother was a diablos, it doesn't mean he is necessarily evil."

"You don't know ANYTHING about my brother!" Dominic took a step forward to get in the old man's face, but Lina's hand on his shoulder held him back.

"Lina, hun, I'm so glad I found you again. It was heartbreaking them taking you away from me, but that is the past. Necromancy, just like any other art, is an ability that you can either learn on your own or it can come naturally. It is in your blood, Lina, so it would be foolish to deny it."

The seer hissed, "Yes Lina, go out and poison a bunch of people."

"Yeah, think of the rewards, Lina!" Her uncled pulled her to his side, letting his arm hang down across her shoulders. "You'll never get mugged, you can play hero every once in a while to a bunch of crooks, and you might even be able to halt death."

"Halt it?" Lina asked. She was doing her best to stay calm, but her nervousness was apparent. She got herself another glass of cocoa, and poured her two guests glasses too. Knowing her uncle's temper, and Dominic's big fat nerve about the subject, she expected an explosion at any time.

"You are lucky, Lina. Normally the effects of those practicioners that had to learn the art and study it for a long time are not at all good. You see, the gaunt complexion, advanced aging, and all of those other halloween-esque potrayals do have a ring of truth to them. However, since it is already within you to do so, you will experience no pain once you gain a level of mastery."

Lina kept her eyes away from both of the men. "Pain?" She whispered fearfully.

"Well, being uncomfortable comes with any muscle you work, and this is just the same. You don't have to use this for evil, Lina, that is what the world just doesn't get. Necromancy is basically controlling Death Essence. To manipulate the breakdown of decay, raise it up and build it up to suit your purposes. "

"My brother could've died because of that shitty Essence," Dominic's voice was quieter this time, but the venom in his tone was noticable. "It's a disease, nothing that should be practiced."

Eric ignored Dominic and kept his eyes on his neice "Lina, you have free will, don't you?"

She reluctantly looked at him, and handed him his cocoa, "Yes, I do."

"Then use it. I bet I can get you to practice this power right now."

"What? How?" Lina pulled up a chair and sat down, knowing that her legs would fail her if she stood much longer.

"You can use your power to have decaying effects on inanimate objects as well as those that walk and breathe. For some others this is an impossibility, but for your, the perfect building step."

"I don't like the sound of it either, Uncle Eric, but, do you really think this can help us defeat him?"

"Absolutely. I can't tell you what you can do in the heat of the moment, but I can tell you you need this." Eric stood up and grabbed a wooden clock off the highest shelf in the room. He put it down on the table and looked at his neice intensely. "Lina you are going to turn this old thing into nothing but rot. First you have to do your best to concentrate on the Death Energies within you, and push them outwards, out of your fingers, to the clock and, in a word, kill it."

Avoiding Dominic's gaze fearfully and completely, she touched the clock and stared at it. "Its not doing anything Uncle Eric."

"Well thinking it to do anything is never a good way to start. Looks like I'm going to have to awaken it a bit in you first. The best way to do it would be...hmm." He spun around on his heels in thought. "There must be, ah, Yes!" He dug around in one of the kitchen drawers and took out a kitchen knife and ran it across a napkin to test how sharp it was. Once satisfied, he flicked the blade around in his hand playfully and a gentle dark glow surrounded it.

Lina held her chest. "I heard you tell me all that stuff but I never- I never...Never.."

Eric turned his back to her and walked around a little bit, picking up random objects on the counters but still keeping the knife tight in his ehand. Without warning, he turned around and in one swift moment, cut Lina's arm with the pulsing blade. Lina screamed and fell out of her chair, and Eric grabbed the clock and held it in front of her face. "Do it Now! Force out the pain you feel!"

Not putting much thought into it, Lina shoved her arm forcefully into the clock. She looked on in complete horror as her hand passed right through the clock, as it disentigrated into nothing but decayed rot, then dust. Her hand still in the air, she stared at it, turning it slowly as her mind tried to come to grips with the situation. Already Eric was bandaging the wound on Lina's arm.

"Don't you see what he just did to you! Your arm is probably poisoned now." Dominic immediately got into a defensive stance. "We have to get your uncle out now, I can't even say for sure if he is not working with Jacob."

"So now you think I would harm my own daughter. There is nothing in her of mine, any Death Energies within her are her own. I simply initiated it. The only real damage I did was a slit to the arm, which will heal up in a few days." He patted Lina on the back, "Sorry about that hun."

Dominic tore away the paper towel that Eric had put to Lina's arm and examined in closely. _He's telling the truth, there is nothing here. But now I can't even, I still can't trust him. There is no good in this practice, there never was! _ He pounded his fist against the table and stomed off into Lina's room, again, but Lina was still in too much shock to even utter a word.

"He'll be okay." Eric sat down and put his arm around Lina, putting the paper towel back up on the small wound. "You have to remember Lina that what you learn isn't going to change you unless you let it. I understand that this guy has had a bad history with others, but why don't you go and show him that not everyone who practices fits into the maniac box. You can bring the good out of anything, Lina, or the evil. Its up to you to choose."

" I always wanted to hang out with you. " Lina finally spoke up, but her eyes kept to the floor, "The little bit you told me did seem interesting, but then my parents..and.."

Eric pulled her closer, "I miss them too. My own flesh and blood, my sister, how could I not?"

"If you had these powers over death, why didn't you save them?" She started to cry softly. "I want to know. You tell me I can use these powers to help people, how can I if I can't stop death?"

"When I said Halt Death, I think you got the wrong Idea. We can freeze it, or manipulate it, but we can't restore death to life. Death is simply that, there is no talk of crossing over from one to another. If I had the power, hun, I would've saved them and a whole truckload of others. But I couldn't. Having your parents walk around if there was no soul to them wouldn't do a bit of good."

"Then what good is this? What good am I? I thought you would have all the answers."

"Really? If you do know someone who has all the answers, I'd sure love to hear them. I've found ways in my life to help people in my path, and I know somehow you are going to do the same. So, you asked this Dominic guy out yet?"

"What??!" Lina blushed beet red, "Wh-Oh, no no! No of course not. He has a girlfriend."

"So steal him away."

"Uncle Eric!!"

"Oh, so NOW I'm evil. Heh, you won't even have to try. You are so pretty you will do it without thinking."

"I don't think so." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I know he and Luna care deeply for each other. She looked a lot like me when I was younger, the teeth problems and everything. If you fall in love with someone, their inperfections as well as their highlights, its hard to look the other way. It makes me feel like I was wrong to get braces."

"So being pretty is a sin?"

"No. But altering yourself is, in Dominic's eyes. That's why, even if something happened between him and Luna, he'd never look at me."

Eric frowned and turned his neice so he could give her a full fledged hug. "He is the seer right, not you? That means don't go pretending you know the future. Because you don't. So maybe you won't get him, but someone's gonna come around and like you just as you are, altered, unaltered, dealing with death or anything else."

Lina hugged him tightly and stopped herself from crying further. Everything slowly began to sink in, but the thought of an angry Dominic still loomed in her mind. She slowed her breathing and shut her eyes, forcing herself to relax. "I want to do the right thing."

"Then that is what you are going to do. I know you won't prove this old man wrong."

Dominic sat down on the floor of the bedroom, becoming increasingly annoyed at the situation. _I just don't know if I have it in me to trust him, or her. But Belinda would want...I don't know what to do. I just want to go home. I want to have Spark bug me, I want to be with Luna, I want to hear Gregory tell me how cool I am, and I want my pipe yet, but of course Gregory ruined smoking for me. I want Jacob to go away, but nothing I want is going to happen, is it?_


	13. The Threat

Sometimes the emptiest of situations contain the most intensity. Eric made regular visits in the night to help Lina develop her abilities. Dominic, though not leaving, left a cold silence in the air that broke Lina's heart. His frustration with not being able to find his brother anywhere, and the occasional reports of deaths that he knew he was responsible for, made him all the more bitter. The weekend crept upon them slowly, and Saturday morning started out like all the others.

Lina cooked breakfast, bacon, eggs, and hash browns, on the stove. Dominic was attempting to read the morning paper, even though the language was still new to him he was a quick learner and interested in seeing what was going on. Lina recalled her uncle saying they acted like an old couple who had lost their love for each other several years back and were now nothing but empty, fragile, shells. Lina agreed, they may not have been a couple, but their relationship as they knew it was on the line.

She took the eggs and bacon out of the frying pan with her spatula, and set it down on his plate. She had taken the time to pick out a rather decorative plate for her friend, and even went as far as to set down the food in a particular manner. Normally she did not try to play restaurant chef, but doing these things for him gave her a small sense of redemption, though in the back of her mind she knew that it wasn't going to work.

Dominic had bounced back and forth between trying to see Lina for the person she was, and for the necromantic powers she was about to embrace.

_It's going to consume her, if not now, later. She will have to kill in order to test her power. She won't get anymore powerful if she doesn't become a regular practicioner, and who knows who she will turn against when she gets to that stage. I don't trust her uncle, not at all. He is way too casual about this ordeal, and in this setting that makes him twice as suspicious than if he were in my world. I should do some research on Lina's family. Maybe if I show her the unsavory characters of her ancestry, she'll abandon this stupid crusade._

With the scent of hot food drawing him, Spark trotted into the kitchen and sat at Dominic's feet. He purred and rubbed up against his leg. With a rare smile, Dominic reached down and scratched behind his ears, making him purr louder and deeper.

_It's nice to be greeted. _

"MeeOoowWWW" Spark jumped onto Dominic's lap, rested his paws on his shoulder, and pressed his semi-wet nose against his cheek. "MeOOWwwwww"

"Spark stop it." Lina spoke to the cat in a low tone, and quickly removed him from the seer. She went to the refrigerator to open up a can of cat food, poured it out onto his plate, stirred it up, and allowed Spark to inhale it. She washed her hands and went back to perfecting her plating. Once she determined that everything was in set order, she brought the plate over to Dominic, and set a large glass of milk beside it.

Dominic nodded his thanks but did not speak a word. Neither did Lina. She went to the bathroom to splash some water on her face, and in the process got a good look at herself. The lines on her face indicated that she hadn't been getting much sleep lately. She felt years older than she actually was, and in response to that, sat down on the bathroom floor and put her head on her knees. Spark came in with her, licking his lips, and sat down between her legs and stared up at her.

"I'm trying not to be overdramatic, but its hard. Its rare that I get friends like this, you know that Spark. I don't want to lose him as a friend, but it looks like I've already done it. And I have to use my powers, right?"

Spark looked around and then nuzzled against her leg.

"It scares me too. I just think that maybe my uncle is right, as long as I don't use it for evil I'm not a bad guy or anything, I'm just me. If I have to fight a necromancer, I should know what type of stuff he is doing. I want to be able to protect Dominic. He has to live long enough to get back home to his girlfriend, doesn't he? I mean, I…even if I can't have him I still care for him. I keep telling myself in the end that everything will work out, but in reality I just don't know."

"Thank you for the breakfast."

Lina turned to see an equally tired looking Dominic standing in the door way.

"Everything will work out. I guess." With that Dominic left her sight.

"I guess I should be happy he is speaking with me." Lina let her head drop against her knees. Spark chewed on her hair.

"So, does anyone know any cities that begin with the letter 'R'?" Pam asked what was left of the group.

"I'm going outside," Luna waved to them and stepped out the door, but was stopped short by Pam's hand.

"You can't leave, remember? The witch doesn't think it safe. If something goes wrong and she isn't there to ward the darkness away, you could die."

"Yes, but I don't want to be cramped up in this room either. I don't even have all of my notes with me." She responded.

"Well where are your notes?"

"I.." Luna sat on the bed and crossed her legs, "Dominic stashed them somewhere."

The nurse sighed and hit her head lightly against the wall. "I'm so bored. I think that witch sleeps more than she does anything else. Everyone else left a long time ago."

Luna frowned and pulled her legs back up on the bed. "I guess they got tired of me.." She frowned and shut her eyes.

"No, they just wanted to get out of the room, stretch their legs. The Deegans have other matters to attend to, but Gregory and I are around?"

"Anyone else?"

"Umm...no."

Luna growled lightly.

Pam stood up again and stretched, taking off her nurses cap for once and revealing her long, beautiful hair. She set the cap down on the chair and touched her toes a few times.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping in shape. I want to.." Pam blushed and continued her exercises silently.

"Want to what?"

"Look good for..err.."

"Gregory?"

"Shhhh!!" Pam lost her balance and tilted over but regained it by pressing herself upwards with her hand. "Please don't tell him. Its natural for a girl to want to look nice. Maybe Rachel's complete makeover wasn't for me, but I do want to do something. Haven't you ever wanted to look nice for Dominic?"

"Yeah, of course I do." Luna's hand grazed her teeth, "But what can I do? I am the way I am."

"You and everyone else puts too much emphasis on one thing, instead of the whole you." Pam sat down on the floor and stretched her legs. "Have you ever tried buying fine lotions, getting the best shampoo derived from sweet flowers, or even basic exercises."

Luna got down on the floor slowly and began to stretch along with her. "I never thought of it that way." She stuck her toes under the bed and reached backwards to stretch, but her feet lost their grip and her head smacked against the floor.

Pam stopped and quickly aided her friend. "Are you okay?"

Luna's eyes flooded with tears and she curled up in a little ball. "Something is wrong."

"What- What is it?? Tell me!!"

"Dominic. He- He's going to die."

"Dominic? Dominic. Oh sweetheart.....get up, Deegan!"

All the notes and papers surrounding the sleeping seer shot up in the air as he was jolted awake by the voice. He scrambled back to find Dyana standing two feet from him, her arms crossed. She raised her leg and placed it on the bed seductively, and put her hand on his cheek. "Hello."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Guess its going to take your second sight some time to get back in shape, huh? I'll tell you who I am. I'm Mrs. Dyana Deegan."

"Eh..." _Okay, she's nuts. _"Deegan? I'm afraid I don't have any sisters, and you are definately not my aunt."

Dyana pucked her lips sarcastically and sat on the bed next to him. She slipped her arms around him and rested her lips against his neck and began to lick.

"Ack!" He shoved her away and scrambled off the bed.

"I'm here to give you a message, Deegan. Whatever you may see in that little mind of yours I suggest you ignore it."

He glared at her, and a thick black cloud began to seep from the floor. His eyes took on a light glow and he hissed in an unnatural voice. "I will do no such thing, so leave this place at once."

The white-haired woman laughed and swept her hand through the clouds, causing them to immediatly dissipate. "Don't try your illusions on me, Deegan, your brother told me all about them."

"You work for Jacob!" Dominic hissed at her. "Tell me, exactly what you are planning to do."

"You are the seer, I'm sure you already know. Let me just give my message and leave since you seem so uncomfortable with my being here." Dyana leaned over and tried to kiss Dominic, but he moved away.

"Here is the deal, boy. Im going to give you this one chance for you to live. Stay out of it. I know you've been snooping around and you're already going to pay a very heavy price for your meddling."

"And what is that?"

"Your ugly little friend Lina? Well, she is as good as dead."

"I won't let you touch her!"

"Boy, its high time you learn I do whatever I please... But first, I think I'm going to give you a little preview of what I'm about." She raised her hand to strike him, but another voice stopped her from completing the blow.

"Allow me to go first." Lina ran in and grabbed Dyana's hair and twisted it.

"You bitch!" Dyana freed her hair, "No rookie Necromancer will prove a challenge to me!"

"So you know about me? Then this shouldn't come as a surprise." With a fist full of Death essence she struck at Dyana, hitting her in the side. What looked like black blood poured from her side, but she wasn't phased by it.

"Hm." Dyana lifted her shirt and looked at her wound. There was a small knife lodged in her, and the blood was running down onto the rest of her clothing.

"Idiot. Why injure someone who is skilled in white magic. Nice touch with the knife, though. Trying to give me disease though an open would that you cause yourself. Remind me to applaud you." She yanked it out and proceeded to heal herself.

"Even that takes time!" Lina yelled. She swung at her with her other fist, blade pushed forward and this time visible to the eye. Dyana barely moved out of the way and used her knee to push Dominic in the way.

Dominic was hit in the neck.

Blood splattered around the room.

Lina screamed and ran to his side. "No no no no..Dominic get up. What did I do? What dd- d-..." She let out another peircing scream and buried her head on his motionless body.

"Shame shame. You really should be careful.." Dyana headed towards the door but paused to take a second look at the gruesome scene."But then again...I am in a nice mood today. You see, Lina, you were the one I wanted after all, not Dominic. I just have this thing about other women with power. Perhaps we can, strike a deal.."

It was several moments before the sobbing Lina could speak."What deal? I'll do anything."

"Your life energy. I don't need your pathetic powers, but the hours of your life will do. Allow me to drain them from you and I, being a woman of my word, will heal Dominic. Hurry now and decide, he doesn't have much time."

Lina stared at him, and then back up at the woman. "Fine."

Dyana kneeled down and grabbed the stone that hung on the string around her neck. She placed her hand on Lina's shoulder and concentrated. Lina felt herself weaken considerably and collapsed.

"Good. A deal's a deal.." She placed both hands over Dominic and forced the Death Essence out of his body, and then healed the wound in his neck. By the time Dominic opened his eyes, Dyana was gone and Lina was draped over him.

"Lina?" Dominic sat up and shook her some. "Lina!"

"I'm still here." She opened her eyes and smiled weakly.

"What-did, what happened?"

"I think I just sold my soul or something. Im so sorry Dominic. I wanted to show you I could be good. I tried to save you...but.." She cried, "I hit you instead.."

He sat there stunned. Slowly his hand moved to her back and he rubbed in gently, and from that, pulled him tightly into his embrace. "What did you just do for me?"

"It was the only way you could be healed. I wasn't about to let you die in my arms."

"I..er...damn.." He rested his head on her shoulder. "Just hang on. After I stop Jacob I'll find a way to fix this."

"Maybe, maybe not." Lina gave him a gentle squeeze. "What is important is you getting back home, getting back to your family,

and getting back to Luna. You were telling me about that Diary right? I'll make sure I'm around long enough to find that too."

_I can feel it. Her weakness. This is all Jacob's fault. All of it. He's going to pay for what he's done, and if Lina dies I'll never be able to forgive myself. No, she won't die. That's not an option._


	14. The Others

"It better work this time."

The same group crowded around Luna, but backed up when Cassarah waved them off with her cane. "What did I tell you children about giving me breathing room. I'm going to try one last time to contact this boy, but if it falls through, I expect payment in full."

"Hey!" Gregory growled, "Why should we have to pay you if this doesn't work?"

"You want your girlfriend to start shaving every morning?"

Pam took and additional step back and Gregory shook his head no. The witch smiled deviously and laid her hands on Luna. This time awake, Luna kept one eye open as the old woman's hands hovered over her.

"Is this going to hurt?" she asked Cassarah.

The witch shrugged.

Luna frowned. "Fantastic..."

"Shut up and close your eyes!"

When Luna opened them again she found herself lying face down on of a couch. Pushing herself up, she ran to the mirror hanging nearby and seeing a reflection not her own, let out a squeal of joy. "Dominic, I have to find Dominic." She ran all over the house, but he was no where to be found. "He was dying, I could feel it, but now...something else happened." She began to search frantically inside of closets and bathrooms, and thoroughly searched the basement and the attic.

"Where in the heck is he?" She sat down in a chair in the kitchen, but stood up again when she heard rattling in the other room. She ran over to where she heard the noise, and saw a cat staring up at her.

"Spark?"

With his head against the window, Dominic rode the #32 bus downtown with a large package on his lap. He got off at the corner of Eagleton and Asaka, then began his trek back to his house. There was a lightness in his step as he walked, going faster and faster with his increasing nervousness and excitement. A few shortcuts later he got to the house. He grabbed his keys, opened the door, and hugged a surprised 'Lina'. He set the package down on the floor and took her hands in his own.

"I j-" He squinted his eyes and adjusted his glasses, then looked in her eyes. "I wanted to apologize. I can't say Im completely comfortable with the siatuation, but a while ago I got a message from someone I know is very wise. Thank you. Are you feeling okay?" He took a finger and traced it against her cheek, and he could feel her jump from nervousness.

"Its not Lina."

"What?" He lowered his hand and stared into her eyes, those same baby-blues he had fallen in love with. "Luna.." He pulled her into his arms again and kissed the top of her head repeatedly.

"You are getting presents for her? Is she-"

Dominic cut her off with a quick kiss to the lips. Letting his hand slide down her side he deepened it, and pulled away slowly. "You know you never have to question my feelings."

"The witch sent me back. What you don't know is, well, Lina and I have this connection. I guess that part of it is obvious, but, she has some sort of natural dark energy within her that is making me sick back home. The witch told me that if she doesn't gain control of this power I'll eventually.."

"You'll be fine." Dominic lead her to the couch and pulled her down on his lap. "Lina is a necromancer, one of the few naturals I have heard of. Jacob intends to draw souls from the unsuspecting public here, and Lina's Uncle Eric insists that the only way we can stop him is to beat him as his own game."

"Necromancer vs. Necromancer?"

"It looks like it. And if I didn't alrady have a headache from all this, a white mage is assisting him. I guess the whole stereotype with white mages having dedicated their lives to protection and healing goes out the window. I have a feeling she is a natural too. With naturals, they can bend and shape their abilities to whatever purpose they wish, good or bad."

Luna looked to the box. "What's in there?"

"That? I bought Lina a few things. When that mage attacked me earlier, Lina used her power to try to defend me. Problem is it backfired and I was struck. She made a deal with the mage that if she gave up years of her life, I would be healed. If she hadn't made that sacrifice, I'd be dead right now."

"So you are okay?"

He nodded. "She made a mistake, but now she is dying for it. I just wish there were a way to get Gregory here. I'm sure he would be able to do something. Oh, and Luna, can you answer the door?"

"But no one-" she blinked as she heard the knocking. "You like to do that, don't you?"

"It may have been gone for a while, " Dominic smirked, "But now its back."

Lina opened her eyes and sat up immediately. She was wearing a dress, a rarity for her, and when she licked her teeth she found quite the surprise.

"What the hell?" She asked herself and quickly surveyed the situation. She was in a small room with a table and a few chairs. There was a woman dressed in white asleep in one of the chairs, and a boy with reddish hair sitting on the floor drooling in the woman's lap.

"Excuse me.."

They both remained asleep.

"Hello? ANyone..WAKE UP ALREADY!"

Gregory fell to the floor and Pam coughed as she jolted into consciousness.

"Luna? You are awake. Did you get the message to Dominic?" Gregory pulled himsed together and dusted off his pants. "I hope so, because that woman is not exactly the helpful type."

"Luna? I'm not Luna.."

Cassarah creaked open the door and hobbled in, very slowly to the annoyance of the young Deegan. With an evil glare shot to Gregory and Pam, the old woman focused on Lina and began to speak. "Let me explain. These two are way too simple to do it. You and your Other side have switched bodies. She is in your world and you in hers. This is what I intended to do in the first place, but because Travoria was unconcscious the first time it was rather one sided."

"Say what?" Lina arched a brow.

"You don't remember when Luna came to your world?"

"I.." She tapped her finger against her forehead in thought. "I sort of do, I think. I remember something to that effect, either that or Dominic telling me about it. I also remember feeling sad."

"Keh," the old woman sneered,"That is because you have feelings for Deegan as well. You knew of his prior relationship, and you selfishly pitied yourself."

"Hey wait up just a second! Dominic and I are good friends, and if you are trying to insinuate that I'm making a move on him you are highly mistaken. Do you really think Im that low? I mean please, I have morals."

"Your heart is just as wicked and selfish as any others, don't try to fool yourself, necromancer.."

Lina's right eye twitched and she tightened her first, but lost her concentration as the witch "Whoah Whoah..how do you know about that?"

"Because I'm me!" she snapped at her, and Lina backed up frightened.

"Okay, okay, you win. But why did you attempt to do the switch in the first place?"

"You need to develop that unruly power within you. If you don't, it will seep through and eventually kill Travoria. Its simple. The way you young people make this more complicated than it is, is beyond me." Hacking up a big ball of phlegm, she cleared her throat and pounded her fist against her chest. "Now tha the message has been recieved, I will be leaving. I will be back for my payment, Gregory Deegan, one way or the other." The witch left much faster than she entered, and Gregory questioned if she was really as feeble as she sometime pretended to be.

"Right." Lina swung her legs over and got out of bed, and ran her fingers along the tusks. "It is kind of like when I was little. I was so ashamed to go out.." She looked to the silent Gregory and Pam, and smiled at them. "Don't worry about Luna. I've already been practicing my power because my uncle thought it would help us anyway. Now that I know someone's life is on the line I'll work twice as hard, I promise"

"I understand" Gregory patted her shoulder as he held in a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

He lowered his head and snickered, still trying to hold it back. "I can't help it. I can't."

"Your point?"

"You like my brother!" He fell down on the bed laughing. "I know he can see into the future, but I bet he didn't see this. Two chicks after him? Thats just ridiculous." His laughter finally calmed when two sets of annoyed female eyes stared him down.

"This is great and all, but how do I switch back? Do we need that woman? I have an online business to run and I haven't checked the latest profits yet. I know, I know, people think selling plates, mugs, and other decorated junk should be an easy bit, but its getting people to buy all that decorated junk is the hard part. Besides, I need my uncle Eric to help me train."

"I didn't think about that." Pam went to the door, "I'll go look for her and ask."

"She better find her. No way am I getting stuck in whatever the heck this place is. If its anything like Dominic told me, I might as well be stuck in the stone age. Without a MP3 player. Thats not good."

Both of them looked towards the door Pam had left from. They looked back at each other, then back at the door. Someone finally came in, but it was of the feline variety.

"I'm hungry.." Spark whined as he jumped on the bed.

Lina screamed.

"What in the heck's wrong with you?" Spark trotted over to Lina and sniffed her, "And did you recently have tuna fish for lunch?"

Lina's teeth chattered and she edged away."Ah...Ha.a...I'm going insane no way is there a talking cat!"

"Let me get this straight." Gregory cleared his throat, " You believe you have switched places with my brother's girlfriend in a new dimension, and that you have necromantic powers, but not in a talking cat?"

Lina twitched her nose and stared at the cat. "Good point. You must be Spark then."

Holding her hand tight, Dominic lead Luna down the streets, pointing out the streets and the houses and anything he thought might be of interest. She wasn't incredibly impressed until they reached downtown, where the skyscrapers and other large buildings put her in awe.

"Its unbelievable, all of it." Luna slipped her arm around Dominic's, her eyes scanning all the sights, "This world must really be ruled by technology and great works."

"Everything done without a bit of magic. It is hard to believe, but on the other side of it, they don't believe in it so there is no reason to rely on it. How about I take you out to eat?"

"Sounds good." Luna licked her lips, but paused noticing her lack of tusks. "Its weird not having them. I keep forgetting I'm not in my own body."

"Doesn't matter much to me. I know my Luna." Dominic said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear.

Luna blushed furiously and spotted a restaurant at the corner. A sign with the words, 'Restaurante Agostina' hung above it, and it was decorated with lightly tinted windows that sparkled with the light coming from the inside. Dominic noticed her interest and ushered her inside. They were seated near a window, which was perfect because, to Luna, the cityscape looked even more beautiful through the shading on the windows. The reflections playing off the window from the people behind them made the blended scene spectacular to look at.

Dominic kept his hand on Luna's as he looked at the menu. In the back of his mind he knew that she and Lina could switch back at any time, but he couldn't help but take this opportunity now that it was presented to him.

"Luna, I.." He shut his eyes and then looked back directly into hers. "Usually we are so busy fighting people that love to invade our lives that I never get the chance to-"

Luna squoze Dominic's hand gently and nodded. "You don't have to say anything. I owe you my life, you know that. Thats why I'm giving it to you."

Not much was spoken during the rest of the evening. They were served their meals and they ate in silence, but both Dominic and Luna couldn't hide the smiles that were shining through on their faces. Towards the end a tear came to Luna's eye and she spoke up.

"Its almost time. I can feel it."

"Switching back?"

Luna nodded.

Dominic pulled her into his embrace and kissed her lovingly, only freeing an arm to leave a tip on the table. He knew they had switched back when Luna's grasp on him faded, but his smile quickly fell to a frown when he noticed the woman in his arms was unconscious.

"Lu- Lina...Lina?" He shook her lightly and set her down back in her seat. He took a menu and tried to fan her, and then felt her temperature with his palm. She was burning up, but before Dominic could call for help she opened her eyes and struggled to sit straight.

"Lina?"

"Yep, that's me. I'm back." She fell back down and realized her sudden weakness. "What's going on?" Her eyes were burning and her hands freezing. "I feel awful. Where in the heck am I anyway?"

Dominic helped her back up and slung her arm over his shoulder. "I took Luna out to dinner, but let me just pay the bill and get you home. You need rest."

"Thats right. I gave up some years of my life, didn't I? Still, that shouldn't have made me weak."

Dominic did his best to keep her to her feet as he paid the bill and got her out of the door. "She didn't say how much she took from you. Im beginning to wonder just what she did to you."

"I made the trade no matter what the price. It was either that, or have you die. I couldn't have you die." Lina slipped down again and Dominic, with a heavy sigh, slipped his arms under her legs and carried her the rest of the way home. He took her immediately to her bedroom and tucked her in, and brought her back juice and toast from the kitchen.

"I appreciate this, thanks. Did you have a nice time with Luna?"

"Yeah, but I'm more worried about you now. I need to find that woman."

"Lets worry about the big picture before worrying about me. I need to control my power better, you need to find out where your brother is, and we need to make sure whatever he's doing doesn't get done, right?"

Dominic smiled and sat at her bedside, running his fingers through her golden strands. "My power is back completely now. So hopefully things won't be going so slowly any more."

"So now we are in real danger?"

"Yeah. But I'd rather get this over with now than just wait around for everything to happen to us. Get some rest. I'll go get the door." Dominic stood up and headed out, leaving Lina with a very confused expression. Just as she was about to say something, Dominic spoke up, "My powers are back, remember?" He shook his head and got to the door, but unfortunately he didn't forsee who would be behind it.

Him. In a manner of speaking.

The man looked exactly like him except his hair was put in a pony tail and he was wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He wore sunglasses , and brushed more of his hair in his face than Dominic did. Instead of waiting to be invited in he strolled inside and began calling for Lina.

"Where are ya hun? Lina! Oh Lina.."

"She's sick. Can I help you?" Dominic sat down on the couch, keeping a careful watch over him.

"You can call me Derek." He plopped down on the couch beside him and helped himself to one of the mints on the table. "I've been expecting to see you for quite a while. I had a dream that we would have this meeting."

Dominic ran his fingers through his hair and pulled it back, and looked at the man, trying to ignore the creepy feeling that was playing against his spine. "Might as well say it, you are a seer, aren't you?"

"If you use that term, yes." Derek took out a business card that showed his name and address, and in big bold letters across the bottom, the words 'Oracle for Hire'. "I make quite the business out of seeing other people's past and future. I have a office downtown and I enjoy quite the sucess.

_I get it. So his me, except his life doesn't suck. I don't like where this is going. _He rolled his eyes at Derek's cocky tone, and leaned back on the couch trying to get himself comfortable.

"You've had quite the time here. You've been searching for your brother, from what I could tell, and also, you are me from another dimension. Now that we have all the formalities out of the way can you tell me where my Lina-chan is? I've missed her sweet...face" Derek licked his lips suggestively at the thought of Lina, and Dominic backed up.

"I think you should leave her alone for right now. She isn't feeling well. Maybe you should come back another time?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. She always loves to see me." Derek sprang from his seat and made a beeline to the bedroom, scooped his arms around Lina and pinched her butt.

Lina screamed and pushed him off of her. "Derek I'm warning you, get lost and get lost now. I don't want to see you. I never want to see you. So dont use that line that you saw it in a vision."

"But I did. I see in the future you falling into my arms, it is just taking a while for it to come true." He gave her another pinch, and received a slap to the face.

"You need to learn the difference between visions and fantasies! " Lina coughed and fell back to the bed, but retained her glare against Derek. "For the longest time I thought that you were fake anyway, until-"

"You met Dominic and realized that if he is real, I must be too. You've been wondering that for a while, because he and I look almost exactly the same. Except I take better care of myself."

Dominic cleared his throat, standing in the bedroom door. His eyes shot through Derek like a hawks, and his voice came out cold and annoyed, "I'm beginning to doubt we have any link at all."

"Sure we do. I'm just the side of you that's begging to be cool."

"I know Lina's double and they are a lot alike." He rested his hand against the doorframe and prepared himself on pulling Derek away if need be. Derek continued to smile, and eventually came over to Dominic to look him straight in the eye.

"If my theories on the whole thing are correct, there is no such thing as a mirror opposite or a exact copy. Heck, we could be nothing alike and still have the bond."

"I might agree with you if we stress the **nothing alike** portion of it." Dominic hissed, "You are just a obnoxious pervert."

"From what I can see of your past, Dominic, you like nothing better when Luna looks down the right way and-"

Dominic edged closer, cracking the knucles in his fist out of frustration "Just HOW much do you know about me, anyway?"

"Ive been having dreams about this for a while. Shame you haven't, you need to work on your powers. Maybe one day they will be amazing as mine. Well, if you need any help, which I know you will, I'll probably be here before you call me." He turned to Lina, "Adios sexy" He waved to them all, and made his exit as abrubt as his entrance.

Dominic made sure the door was locked after he left, and retuned to his friend's bedside.

"If I tell you something, will you promise never to repeat him."

"That you used to date him? Got it. Believe me, I have some girlfriends in the past that I ain't bringing up either. Lets just chalk it up to temporary insanity." Before Dominic could finish his sentence, Lina had fallen asleep. She had used up any energy she had left fending off Derek, but after a quick check from Dominic, he realized she was okay beside that.

_Everything is riding on me stopping Jacob and finding that woman again. _He brushed her hair out of her face and stood up. He went to the kitchen and pulled out potatoes and mushrooms from the pantry and various other ingredients from the cupboards. _I think I'll make some of my mom's soup. Just hope I can do it right with what I have here. I just need to feel like I am at home right now._


	15. The Contribution

Lina's condition did not improve over the next few days, so Dominic was leary about leaving her side. Whatever Jacob was doing it was hard for him to detect, and with the white mage and whoever else assisting him, things grew more difficult as time passed. Additionally, he had done everything he could think of to convince Derek that they were not home, like turning all the lights off and shutting the blinds. Sorry for them, the know-it-all seer was always three steps ahead, and had a key to Lina's home.

Lina still swore that she never gave him one.

"Hello, people, I have wonderful news. Casey and I have come across something that will brighten both of your days." Derek made his usual forced appearance, plopping down on Lina's bed and giving Dominic an obnoxious wink. "You see-"

"Who is Casey?" Lina groaned, forcing herself to sit up and look at her ex-boyfriend.

"She's a doll. She has the whole talent thing going on, just like I do, but that is besides the point. I've been having some very interesting visions as of late. Would you like to see them Dominic?"

Dominic growled lowly at the obvious set up, but he took the bait. "See them? How could I see your visions?"

"Easy. Haven't you learned yet to project what is in your mind to other people? I thought that was back in class one, but maybe they don't have adequate education back there. Perhaps Mrs. Deegan just needs a break from all the teaching since she is up in age."

"Excuse me!"

"Easy boys." Lina put her hand in front of Dominic to prevent him from standing up, and focused her attention on Derek. "You got something you want to show us, just do it.''

"Sure thing sexy." With almost little to no concentration a scene was playing right in front of their eyes, Lina's included.

"Allow me to narrate." Derek cleared his throat. "You see, there were a couple members of this ultimate baddie group, I believe they were called the Chosen, something along those lines, and they had learned to harness this power called the Negros Axis. You see, what it does is it can take control of any loosed souls, you know, right after people die their souls are not fixed to any point, and use them to whatever purpose the guy controlling the Axis wants. Now this could prove a useful tool to anyone who has an itch for destruction, but its just like candy in a candy store to a necromancer. According to the gold old dictionary, Necromancy was originally used to summon the dead to tell the future, but that is so old school, even for your time, and to expand powers to all things all dead is any necromancer's dream, cue your brother. Now I know you got the hint that something was going down from the fact that you were in this world in the first place, and so was your brother. I also know that little ghost girl tipped you off a bit too, but listen up if you actually want to do anything.

Jacob Deegan saw this place like an untapped mine. This place has no magic and no knowledge of it, well, no general knowledge at least, so pulling a big scam on these unsuspecting people would be a walk in the park. Once he has control of all these souls, the limits to his power would be endless, even when he returns to his own world. Think of the Negros Axis like a huge powerplug from our world to the other. He pulls this off, no body is ever gonna rest in peace again. Don't bother trying to track him down before it begins, your only sign of where he is will be when the Axis is activated.

But Alas, my friend, Im not quite sure at this point what you can do about it. You are not exactly the head to head kinda guy, and Jacob is. Well, he can be. Lina's skills are weak at best, and after her 'deal with the devil' she's disposable at this point. Try not to feel too bad, because I'm sure in my infinite genius I'll figure out something."

The vision before them faded, and all that was left to look at was Derek's smug expression. Dominic raised a brow, and returned a smile of his own.

"Thanks for the history lesson, but I already knew a great deal of that. If I can go against the Chosen I can handle Jacob."

"You wanna die, go ahead," Derek tilted his shaded glasses and winked at Lina. "But let me do my best to protect little Lina here."

"I can do that fine, thank you. Don't you have somewhere to go now, like your own house?"

"Stick to the girls in your own world."

"Thanks it!" Lina got up to her feet quickly, which surprised both the men in the room. "Its true! I love Dominic with all my heart and he loves me too. Just because we don't go about broadcasting our love to everyone and their mother doesn't mean its not there. So why don't you just go?" Lina took all her energy to walk, taking Derek directly to the front door.

Taken aback by Lina's outburst, Derek nodded and headed out. "You know I don't beleive a word of it."

The door closed, and Lina found the closest chair to fall into. Dominic stared at her, with an expression of shock-dismay-confusion that Lina couldn't quite pinpoint.

"What?"

"Broadcast our love?"

"I was just trying to get rid of him, okay??" She curled up in her chair and allowed her bangs to cover her eyes.

_I actually find this funny, but...I shouldn't. _Dominic placed a hand on Lina's shoulder and rubbed it. "I did say I was going to protect you, and I will. We are friends, thats not going to change."

Keeping her eyes down to her knees, she listened to Dominic's words and nodded to show it. "I just don't want you to forget me."

_I couldn't if I wanted to. _"I'm not going to. I'll find a way to communicate with you, I promise. I know you've never met Luna, but she's great and-"

Lina curled up tighter at the mention of Luna's name, and this was Dominic's cue to be quiet. He picked her up and carried her back to bed, tucking her underneath the covers.

"Concentrate more on the promises that were made instead of the ones that were not. My dad used to tell me all the time. Be happy with what you have, in other words. Now, I'm going to go watch that Food Channel now. I have a new idea for a chili recipe cooking in my head."

With a raised head, Lina grabbed Dominic's hand and stared at him, straight in the eyes. She yanked him down to sit with her, fluffed her pillow, and looked at him again. "Funny guy, are you? Well in a month there is going to be another cook-off. If you are lucky, we will be partners again. Not so lucky, I will crush you with my blend of herbs and spices."

"I'm not a rookie anymore, not in the kitchen. When I get home I think my mother will be proud with what I can whip up."

"Nu-uh, can't write home to mama yet. Not until you win a big shiny trophy all on your own."

Dominic smiled at her, and relaxed seeing Lina this way. _She's got a strong will, just like Luna's. I'll miss her quite a bit when I do return home._

Miranda Deegan had been irritable as of late. She could not find peace among her studies, even though expanding upon what she already knew was her life's joy beside her family. There had been something she was keeping from everyone, and for that she felt ashamed, but if she were to let word out it could spell disaster for everyone she held dear.

It was getting late. Her husband had promised her a dinner out tonight to get her away from the rather hectic schedule she had been holding up at the school. She stood up from her table of books and groaned. Se was getting that cric in the back of her neck again and an ache in the back of her knee, and it wasn't so much the discomfort but the fact it made her feel like an old woman that bothered her the most. Jacob wasn't THAT old, she kept telling herself, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was getting on in age.

"Miranda. Miranda you ready?"

She could hear her husband's calling her, and took one last moment to stretch her left arm, damn the pain. She needed to get away, from Luna, her son Gregory, and all of the others who had banded together during Dominic's absence. She was proud of the fact that her son had such a committed group of friends, but the more they found out, she knew, they more they would have to deal with in the end.

"Coming." She adjusted her glasses, which had fallen too far down her nose, and tucked one book, with white leather and gold embroidered letters, under her arm. "Im sure Donovan won't mind me bringing just one." She laughed at herself and hurried out the door, not wanting her husband to wait a moment longer.

Dinner that night was too quiet for Donovan's tastes. He peeked over the menu at his wife, and then let his eyes wander back.

"You can talk, you know." Miranda set her menu down and smiled.

"I just want to make sure you are all right. So much has happened to you and Dominic over the past year, I'm beginning to wonder if it is too much, even for you."

"Of course not."

"Well let me know if it is. I know we are not as young as we used to be. Sometimes I just wanna retire and kick back in a rocking chair."

Miranda perked a brow at Donovan's comment. "You? Retire? Doesn't sound like you."

"Or you either, but everyone wants to get away from it all sometimes."

"Change is coming. Bigger than anything that we could fathom."

"Bigger than deciding on anything on this menu?" Donovan licked his lips, going over his selections again. "Everything looks so good."

Miranda pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh, then folded her menu together to look at him. "Thanks for being there."

"That's what Im for. Good advice, or comic relief."


End file.
